


Return to the Palace

by mcdn11



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Azula (Avatar)-centric, Bisexual Azula (Avatar), F/F, F/M, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fire Nation Royal Family, Firebending & Firebenders, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Protective Azula (Avatar), Zuko isn't a good ruler, and it's why she doesn't like ursa, azula is neglected as a child, but Azula is a good mother, economic inestability, someone cheats
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 46,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27810748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcdn11/pseuds/mcdn11
Summary: Living in a small cattle-based town was never on her plans, but it's the only place where Azula finally found a true home. It was the place that truly gave her a chance for redemption, and where she made a name for herself not based on her bending abilities.After years of being at peace, a visitor changed her life for the worse. It seems she can never be truly home.Maybe in a past life she was an Air Nomad.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula & Sokka (Avatar), Azula & Ursa (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & original male chracter, Azula/Sokka (Avatar), Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 96
Kudos: 271





	1. A great mistake

**Author's Note:**

> Just an idea I had. I'm writing two stories at a time, so updates may not be following a. schedule. But I'll try to do my best to keep the story going and finishing it with a good ending when the time comes.
> 
> It’s going to be multiple chapters btw, I just can’t find where the chapter thing for the question mark is. Sorry

She didn’t know how it had happened.

Well, that was false. She had been plenty aware how babies were made. After all, the Royal Fire Academy for girls had an extensive curriculum, in which sex education was part of. But what she couldn’t make sense out of was the fact that it happened to _her_. Of course it had been in a moment of weakness. One measly fight with Ty Lee, and next thing she knows she’s waking up in the empty bed of a hotel.

She had to blame the alcohol, or perhaps someone had spiked her drink and taken advantage of her, because someone like her would never do something so dishonorable in full consciousness. It was hard to remember what the fight with Ty Lee had even been about. Maybe it had been because she refused to give Ty Lee’s parents the respect expected towards elders, or perhaps it had been because her girlfriend had nagged about leaving life with the Kyoshi Warriors just to be by her side. Whatever it was, it was no reason to cheat.

The truth could not be hidden. She had told Ty Lee what she had done as soon as she arrived at the place. As excellent liar as she was, there was no sense in living a lie with the woman she loved. It was no surprise when Ty Lee had broken up with her at that instant. No matter how much she apologized, Ty Lee was just too heart-broken to keep on.

What she hadn’t expected was for her family to turn their backs on her. What had been years of trying to mend their relationship together, the actions of one night left her without anything. Of course, Mai, now Zuko’s wife, had slapped her and ran to comfort Ty Lee. Her brother could not believe what she had done, and just simply avoided her gaze. But what hurt the most was her mother’s reaction. Her mother didn’t look mad, maybe a little disappointed, but she mostly looked indifferent.

_“You had your chance Azula. Leave the palace.”_ Her mother had told her with those cold eyes reserved for her.

She had begged. Something that only peasants did. Yet her mother just shook her head and walked away. She felt like a kid all over again. Wanting to gain her mother’s favor, but a simple mistake just made all of that in vain.

The Avatar and his friends were also present for that event. Katara, the girlfriend of the Avatar, threw many insults at her. She knew she deserved each and every one of them, but they still made her feel worse than she did before. The Avatar and Sokka avoided her gaze, just as Zuko had done. It hurt, not to be acknowledge by anyone. 

In haste, the princess packed a small bag with clothes and money and left the palace. There was nobody who saw her as she left. It was as if she had never lived in her home. Not even Zuko came to bid her farewell. He didn’t care if she was never seen again. None of them cared. She knew she had hurt Ty Lee, but she didn’t expect to be abandoned by her whole family. Not when she wasn’t aware of what she had done, when she couldn’t remember a thing. For all they knew, she could’ve been drugged and taken advantage of, but her family didn’t care enough. After all, she would always be a monster in their eyes.

Dressed in peasant clothes, the princess wandered through Caldera in search of jobs or anything that would help her survive after her money ran out. But nobody wanted to hire the crazy princess, the one who had spent a year in the asylum. It was evident that she couldn’t make a living in the city, so she went on a boat elsewhere.

After wandering around for a month, she arrived at a small town called Ido. It was located somewhere in the Eastern Fire Nation islands. It was a town known for its cattle meat. Merchants from nearby towns and villages would go and buy the meats, but the small town still remained secluded. When she first arrived, they welcomed her with open arms. Not because she was a princess, for they didn’t know that as she had changed her alias, but rather because she was a young girl in need of support. As soon as they saw her, a group of villagers took her to the town physician.

It was then when the doctor announced her pregnancy.

It had been heartbreaking. She had lost all of her family, her friends, the love of her life, and even her position. She had only a couple of spare coins and a dress. And now, by the will of Agni, she was supposed to have a baby. There was no realistic way she could support such a creature in her state. Not only did she have nothing, but her mental state could deteriorate at any given moment.

But she wouldn’t get rid of it. That creature inside of her had the blood of Sozin running through its veins. Bastard as it may be, her child was still royalty, even if it would never know it.

She was thankful when the doctor, Dr. Misa, let her stay in her house as she settled in the town. It was a guaranteed roof over her head, and hot meals were brought to her every day. After a week of settling in, the Fire Nation princess began to work as a doctor’s assistant. She would help heal the patients, giving them their medicine and learning all about the field. At first, being an assistant and helping peasants’ hand-on felt degrading to Azula. However, as time went on, Azula felt comfort in healing the townspeople.

Contrary to the doctors at the asylum, Azula vowed to always care for the patient’s well-being. She was especially strict to patients who were addicted to certain substances, but that only helped them get better. As her time in the village passed, her reputation as the one with Holy Hands grew. Almost all of her patients came out as good as new.

_“Her attitude is could use some work, and she’ll make you feel horrible about yourself, but by Agni does she have gift.”_ The villagers would say throughout the town

There was a certain peace achieved with healing people. It was what she had wanted people to do with her. What the doctors at the institution refused to do, what her brother Zuko had given up on, and what her mother never cared enough about.

For seven months, as her belly grew, her self-control did too. She was still tough on patients and did not have a reputation of being the nicest of all the townspeople, but there had been an improvement. She would no longer complain about having to cook, or about the roads being so dirty not even a slave should pass through.

With the help of many villagers, she was able to build a small home for her and her soon-to-be-born child. It was close to the clinic, so she wouldn’t need to walk a lot while healing from the birth, and it was also close to the town well, so she could get plenty of water for her baby. For the first time in her life, Azula sincerely thanked the people for helping her. At that moment, the constant negative energy present in her soul, vanished. She felt at peace with herself. She had found her calling and her niche. Her destiny was clear. It wasn’t to be Fire Lord, or to help Zuko be the ruler he was meant to be.

Her destiny was to help her people, as a princess should. She would help the villagers in the best way she could: in the clinic, healing the sick. Once upon a time, she would’ve used her skills to convince a group of people to conquer an area for her. But now, she used those skills to help the patients heal.

Her child would be raised as a true Fire Nation child, not as she was. It would live a normal life, without the fear of a father expecting perfection or an absent mother. Sure, a father figure would be nonexistent, but she would be the best mother ever. The sins of her own mother would not be repeated. Her child would be one who could socialize with children its own age, not like what she had passed through on Ember Island. 

Soon enough, her child was ready to leave her womb. With the aid of Dr. Misa, Azula went through an arduous labor. It had started early in the morning and ended late at night. After much screaming, pain, and blood loss, the princess gave birth to a baby boy.

The child, however, did not cry as expected. In fact, it did not even breathe. Azula, in all of her pain and tiredness, took the child into her arms. She shook the baby lightly, but the boy didn’t respond. Minutes passed, and the baby still did not breathe.

The princess, in her desperation, used her firebending to warm the creature. After doing so and getting no results, Azula gently laid down her unmoving child next to her. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, the firebending prodigy put her arms above the child and focused on the chi. At first, she felt nothing, but soon enough, she could tell that the baby had a lack of energy in his heart. It felt as if it was not working, or at the very least, severely malfunctioning.

“What is done when a heart stops beating?” Azula asked her mentor, Dr. Misa

“There is nothing to be done. In normal circumstances, I would advise for you to pump the child’s chest until he breathes. But he has been born without life. It happens. I’m truly sorry.”

That was not a plausible answer. Azula shook her head. “No, he will live.”

The princess closed her eyes and focused on nothing. Her mind went blank, as if she held no emotion whatsoever. As she opened her eyes, the princess pointed two fingers of each hand towards each other and began to separate the energy. Dr. Misa’s eyes widened at the sight of lightning being conjured. Lightning bending was legend in that part of the Fire Nation, what many believed to simply be Fire Lord propaganda.

Azula pointed her finger at her child and, with the smallest amount of force put into it, she shot her newborn straight in the heart. Dr. Misa yelled, running towards the child as soon as the princess had finished her work. She took the baby to her arms and held it there, crying at the cruelty of its own mother. But as she was about to yell at Azula for shooting her child, the cry of a baby was heard. 

The doctor held the baby in front of her to make sure that it wasn’t a work of her mind. The baby, who had been dead just moments before, now cried in need of his mother. She handed the baby to Azula, who took him and hugged him as tightly as her tired body could. The Fire Nation princess, now a simple doctor’s assistant in a simple peasant town, cried with her child in arms.

“Rina, what’s going to be his name?” Dr. Misa asked the princess, using the name Azula had given as her own.

Azula looked at her baby. His light skin identical to her own and brown locks on his head, but with two colored eyes. One golden like hers, and the other blue like a Water Tribesman.

“Lee Ten” Azula smiled at her baby as she named it. Lee for the love of her life, who she had lost because of a stupid mistake. Yet that mistake led her to the realization of her destiny, and to her own child, who she would love unconditionally. Ten for her cousin, Lu Ten, who died in vain in the Siege of Ba Sing Se, and who was never properly avenged.

The only important thing in her life was Lee Ten. He would be her whole family, and she didn’t need much more. She would live in peace in the small Fire Nation town, without her mother judgmental look, or her brother doubting her stability every second. She would become the best doctor in the town, she would heal every peasant that came her way, and she would love her child forever.

Lee Ten, whose conception had ruined her life, was also the one who brought light into it. The one who had almost killed her during birth, and who was born without a heartbeat, was the one who brought meaning into her world. No matter what, and no matter who, she would never let anyone hurt her baby. He would grow strong, without the need to know of his heritage before much later in his life, and he would live a happy life. A normal life. A life that Azula herself would be jealous of. But it was for her son, so it would be ok.


	2. Dr. Rina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 14 years later and life on Ido doesn't seem to be all flowers and sunshine.

“Hmm, it seems like just another common cold. Just rest and drink lots of fluids, maintain yourself hydrated. If you do not follow these directions and end up feeling worse, come here instantly.” Azula wrote the directions on a piece of paper and handed it to her patient. “If your nose becomes unbearably stuffed, come here so I may give you vapor therapy, but only do that if it becomes unbearable. I will know if you’re lying.”

The man stood up from his seat and bowed down. “Thank you so much Dr. Rina. How much should I pay you for this consultation?”

“Only 1 silver piece.”

The economy of Ido had been declining steadily for many years. After the war, things went normally for around five years. Nearby towns bought their meat, and many merchants passed through. But as the war became a memory of the past, so did the prosperous economy. Nearby towns stopped buying the meat, and the army, who had been their biggest source of income, had stopped buying food for its numerous soldiers. Furthermore, bandit groups emerged throughout the nation because the military was underfunded, and posts became abandoned.

Azula had heard of many villagers plotting against her brother. Their lives had changed for the worse since the end of the war. They did like not being conscripted to fight, but at least when they did, their families back home lived a good life. That was gone now, and the Fire Lord had done no improvements or modification to the Fire Nation government. Unemployment rates had gone up even in small towns like Ido, and many veterans remained waiting for retirement money.

To add salt to the wound, Zuko had declared that the Fire Nation was to give reparation money to the other nations. The money, of course, came from the money of the poor people of the Fire Nation. Taxes went up, and people began to look towards clandestine areas of work to make a living.

Because of the low demand on products, merchants had to increase the price of their products. But the salaries remained the same throughout the nation. Rich people and nobles did not face any difficulties. The common people, like always, were the ones to suffer. Famine struck many areas of the nation, people migrated to the city in look for jobs, and this meant that the black market of the Fire Nation increased even more.

The Fire Nation, once the most advanced place in the world, was now ruled by poverty and crime; all because Zuko didn’t understand the economy, or simply because he didn’t care.

She had wanted to give Lee Ten a wonderful life in the Fire Nation, but it seemed that was impossible. Even she, who had a reputable job healing people, and who had somewhat of a good steady income, was barely going by. Between buying food for her child, and medicine for the clinic, Azula was on the verge of bankruptcy. She was glad that the school where Lee Ten attended was free, because if not, she was sure that her child would’ve ended up even more ignorant than the Joo Dee’s of Ba Sing Se.

Azula bid the last patient of the day farewell and closed the clinic for the day. She headed towards her home, the same one the villagers had helped her build when she arrived all those years ago. The princess smiled when she saw the Dragon moose in front of her house, tied up with rope on the porch. It meant that Lee Ten had arrived from school.

“I have arrived.” Azula said as she entered the room. Her smile turned into a frown, and that frown turned into a look of concern once she spotted Lee Ten.

He was lying face up on the ground, breathing heavily and putting pressure on his chest. His face was bloody, his right eye swollen and his lip cut. It seemed as if his clothes had been partly burned, his pants being cut off mid-thigh and his shirt having holes in it. 

“Lee Ten!” Azula cried as she dropped her bags and ran towards her bleeding son. She took his head and put it on her lap. “Who did this to you?”

“Nobody. It’s my fault for being weak.” Lee Ten managed to get out of him in one quick breath.

“Lee Ten, the mere fact that you’re alive is sign that you’re stronger than even I. Why must you repeat that you’re weak?” Azula shook her head, getting her son’s hair out of his face with her gentle hand.

The young boy scoffed. “Look at me! I can’t defend myself against amateur firebenders, I get exhausted if I walk for more than ten minutes, my chest is always hurting, and I even faint out of nowhere! This must be Agni punishing me for being a half-breed.”

“My son,” Azula frowned. “I’ve told you countless times that Agni has blessed our family personally. Your condition may make it seem as if you’re weak, but you and I both know that nobody has a brain like yours. True strength does not come from your physical attributes, rather from your mind. If you find inner peace, it will not matter how hurt you are, you will be stronger than ten thousand armies.”

The boy coughed and groaned, revealing to his mother that he was in a worse condition than she thought.

“Now answer me, how did this happen?”

The brown-haired boy sighed and, with the help of Azula, sat up with his back leaning against the wall. “Some kids at school began to bother me because of my eye, because it showed that I’m half Water Tribe. I told them that you were the most Fire Nation woman ever, but they told me that…”

“That what?”

“That you opened your legs for any foreigner, and that makes you a traitor to the Fire Nation. I got really mad, so I threw a fireball at one of the guys.”

Azula’s eyes widened. “Lee Ten, you know-”

“Yes, I know that I should only use my firebending for healing and self-defense, but he insulted you!” Lee Ten exclaimed. “I did it, and of course he got slightly burnt. But then there were like four of them around me, and I couldn’t manage to beat them all. I did a number on the one that insulted you, but by then I was too tired to protect myself.”

His mother’s arms went around him, engulfing him in a hug. It wasn’t too hard, as she knew how much her child was hurting, but it was enough to comfort him. “Do not worry about me or my honor. Worry about your health. Do you know how bad it looks that the best healer in the whole Fire Nation has a son that is never taking care of himself?”

“Pretty bad,” Lee Ten murmured

“Extremely bad. If you’re so worried about my honor and image, take care of yourself. And practice with your spear. Firebending takes too much energy out of you, but you should be able to manage with a spear.”

“Alright. Love you mom.”

“I love you too Lee Ten. Now excuse me, I have to go gather water so you can get yourself cleaned up.” Azula smiled and stood up.

Taking the water basket, the former conqueror of Ba Sing Se left her house and headed for the well. She gathered enough water to clean the wounds on her son, and a little more to drink at night. When she was heading back, a young man touched her shoulder.

“Excuse me Dr. Rina,” the man stuttered

“What is it boy? Why are you bothering me when I am clearly doing something more important than your life?”

“W-well, my father and I were in the forest, heading back from our hunting trip, when we found an injured woman. She’s at my house now, but I was wondering if you could look at her and heal her. I know it’s late and you’re off work, but I really think she needs help. Please Dr. Rina, I’ll even pay you 5 silver coins!” the man begged

Azula rolled her eyes. “Bring her to the clinic. I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

The man thanked her, but Azula was focused on getting home to her son. She speed-walked to her home, where her son was already sitting down with more poise. If it weren’t for the swollen eye, busted lip, and bloody damaged clothes, she would say that there wasn’t anything wrong with him.

“I have to go to the clinic. Will you be ok alone?” Azula asked her son while wiping a wet towel over his face.

“Actually, could I go with you? I’m a great assistant, and it will help me get my mind off this day.” Lee Ten asked, pleading with his eyes

The princess had to admit that her son was a great assistant, just as she had been years ago. He paid attention to every detail, and unlike her, he was charming with the patients. When he was at the clinic, the aura of the place lifted and the patients, no matter how much they were hurting, enjoyed being there.

“Alright, you can come. But change your clothes into something presentable.” Her son nodded, standing up and walking to his room as fast as he could.

In under two minutes, the teenager walked out of his room with a simple short sleeved shirt and shorts. It may have looked like a fast decision, the clothes a person puts on because he’s in a hurry, but Azula knew better. She knew he wore this so people could see his scar and the evidence of his fight. It was the one trait that Azula didn’t love about her son. He was always too dramatic, just like Zuko.

The mother-son duo walked through the dirt road towards the clinic. In front of it was a small carriage, with a cloth covered in red spots. Azula grimaced and entered the clinic, Lee Ten following right behind her.

The man from the market was standing right at the entrance and lit up as soon as she saw Azula. “Thank Agni you’re here. I think she’s losing too much blood.” He said as. He walked towards the bed where the woman laid. The woman had fair skin and short auburn hair. She was very muscular, but still maintained a slender form. Her face showed some age, she was probably around her 30s, close to Azula in age.

Azula stepped forward and put a hand above the heart. When she closed her eyes, she concentrated on feeling where the energy was being concentrated at. She found that it was concentrated on the side of her abdomen, on her arm, and just above her knee. Thankfully, none of the wounds seemed to have crossed into any vital organs.

“Lee Ten, get two needles and threat, iodine, and cotton cloths stat.” Azula said as she washed her hands carefully.

Her son brought the equipment she had asked for quickly.

“Everyone except Lee Ten get out of the room now.” There was no room for hesitation. The old man and his son quickly left the room, leaving only the doctor and the teenage boy. “Get rid of her shirt.”

“A-all of it?”

“Yes. If you want to be my assistant, you should learn that when you’re healing someone, you keep your hormones at bay. Get rid of the shirt now!”

Lee Ten grabbed a small knife and, with a quick motion, got rid of the woman’s shirt. Azula quickly took his spot as she patted the area with iodine.

“Wash your hands and come over here. You’re going to stitch the leg.”

“I’m going to _what_?”

“Stitch the leg. It’s the least severe cut, so it will make good practice. Here,” Azula handed a glowing-red needle, “it’s sterile now. Be careful with it.”

Lee Ten grabbed the needle by the silver point and nodded his head. He stood in front of the leg, where he could see the pulsating wound right above the right knee. Carefully, he applied the iodine solution on the wound so that no infections would be caused, and carefully stitched the wound. The sick cattle of Ido were good practice, as their skin was similar to that of humans, and after practicing on so many animals, Lee Ten knew full well what he should do.

In less than a minute, Lee Ten finished stitching the knee wound, leaving a very beautiful stitch that would no doubt leave a unnoticeable scar.

“I finished mom, should I do the…” Lee Ten began to say before taking notice of the patient top part of the body. The woman was no longer bleeding, and her breath had stabilized.

“Hmm, you were saying?” Azula asked as she washed her utilities. 

“I knew you had good hands, but I didn’t know you were _this_ good.”

“Lee Ten, let me tell you something about your mother that you must never forget. I never do anything sloppily. I do everything at the best of my abilities, and the best of my abilities is perfection. From firebending to healing, you must remember that almost isn’t good enough. One mistake and your life can change forever, just like mine did. Even if you’re a prodigy, as it clearly seems to be, you need to work hard in this life. Nothing will be given to you.” Azula turned around to face her son

Lee Ten turned his face to the side. “I already knew that mom. That’s what makes it so pathetic that my body doesn’t seem to understand that I need to be good at firebending and surviving in the wild without collapsing for more than five minutes.”

“You misunderstand Lee,” Azula stepped forward and grabbed her son by the shoulders. “you cannot expect to be good at everything without working. Your physical state is just a barrier you need to cross, and with hard work and excellent mind, I have no doubts that you’ll be able to make the best of it. That’s why I’m always telling you to study and practice with your spear. When something isn’t perfect, it’s not good enough, which means that you need to have another weapon on which you can rely on. Never be satisfied with mediocrity, strive for perfection, but never doubt who you are.”

The young firebender nodded his head, his eyes wet with emotional tears but his mouth shut in determination. He knew that his body wasn’t the strongest one out there, but he could make up for it by using his other abilities. There would be no point in life if he couldn’t become the person his mother wanted him to be.

“Call the men and ask them for assistance with carrying her. She’s coming home with us, so I can pay close attention to her care.” Azula told her son while looking at the face of the woman with narrowed eyes. It seemed very familiar to Azula, but she couldn’t quite place where she knew the woman from.

By the looks of her factions, she seemed to be Earth Kingdom, this being the only possibility as she was not Fire Nation and definitely not Water Tribe. But she wasn’t the usual Earth Kingdom type of gal; there was something there that made her different.

“Dr. Rina, you called for our assistance.” The old man said, breaking Azula off her thoughts.

The princess turned around. “Yes. Grab the woman carefully and bring her to my home. I shall take care of her until she recovers.”

The man and his son bowed down. “As you wish Dr. Rina.”

With the two men grabbing the unconscious woman, Azula and Lee Ten made their way to their home.

“Put her down on the bed of the smallest room. It’s the one to the right.” Azula ordered the men, who bowed their heads and headed to the room.

“Wait,” Lee Ten turned to his mother. “where am I going to sleep?”

The firebending prodigy turned to her son. “On my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor tonight.”

“But-”

“It’s not up to discussion. You are still injured from your fight today, therefore you need to rest. I have only worked today, so I can sleep on the floor. Do not make me repeat myself.” Azula said sternly

“Yes mother.” Lee Ten nodded

Once the two men left their home, Azula began making food. Lee Ten went outside to their small backyard to practice with his spear. He blocked imaginary opponents, attacked the dummy he had set up, and even practiced throwing the weapon. Out of all, he had really good aim when it came to throwing the spear, the weapon going straight to where he desired and embedding itself with much force.

Dinner started quickly, and the mother and son ate in silence. Basic white rice and meat was all they could afford, yet it was much more than other people could eat. At first, years ago, Azula threw many fits over the low quantity of food. But then, as the years passed, and she grew familiar with the rural economy and problems, the princess thanked each plate that she could serve.

She wanted to help the people get more food, but that would require helping the government, which wouldn’t happen on account that everyone at Caldera hated her. Even the local government would be no help. They cared too much for their own pockets, and even if they didn’t, most of the problems came directly from the palace poor economy knowledge.

This was what happened when a banished prince with no knowledge of his nation and who doubts every government minister becomes Fire Lord. It wasn’t that she was jealous of Zuko, or that she wanted to be Fire Lord. That dream had died out years ago. But she knew that Zuko was never smart when it came to study, and a position of so much power required reading about the complex socioeconomic problems of the Fire Nation.

The war was not the greatest thing ever, but at least it made for a stable economy. Like her old economic book said, _if a nation needs money, then the nation must go to war_. Zuko had ended the war, but never accounted for the countless jobs and sectors of the economy he was hurting along the way.

“I’m going to bring tea and check on the patient. As I do that, wash the dishes, brush your teeth and go to bed. Good night.” Azula told her son, standing up from ground and walking past her son, but not before giving him a pat on the head. “I love you.”

“Yeah yeah, I love you too mom. Why do you keep repeating it so much? I’m fourteen years old, not a baby.” Lee Ten grumbled.

Azula smiled slightly. “Once you have children of your own, you’ll understand. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they do, a parent always loves their child.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to be so vocal about it.” Lee Ten crossed his arms

“Don’t be a brat Lee Ten. You’re lucky to have such a loving mother.” Azula said, grabbing the tea pot and a cup, and walking towards the small room without listening to what her son replied.

The Fire Nation princess walked down the hall with the tea on hand. Carefully, she opened the door and entered the room without making much noise. She put the tea on the table next to the bed and began to take the pulse of the woman.

“Hmm, a little quicker than it’s supposed to, but it makes sense. Nothing to worry about.” Azula muttered under her breath, taking her hands and putting them on top of the stomach of the woman. She closed her eyes and focused on the chi. It seemed to be unbalanced, so using a special technique, Azula moved her hands in circular motions and balanced it out. Once she had stabilized the chi, Azula went to check on the wound her son had stitched.

It was very well done. The space between stitch was perfect, and the stitch was neither too hard or too loose. She smiled at the image, knowing in her heart that her son was bound to be an even better physician than her.

A sudden gasp interrupted the warm moment on Azula’s heart. She looked at the source, finding her patient wide awake and looking at the princess in shock and hatred. Suddenly, Azula recognized the woman she had helped heal, and regret began to creep up her spine. The _one_ day she healed someone that was not Fire Nation and it turns out to be _this_ woman.

“Azula” the woman said with much venom.

“In my country, we thank people who save our lives. It seems that is not common curtesy in Kyoshi Island, is it Suki?”


	3. The home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suki wakes up at Azula's house.  
> It's no secret that she doesn't doubt Azula's participation in the rebellions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the Kudos!!! I'm writing this instead of studying for my finals so I hope you like it.

If Suki were a firebender, the was no doubt her bed would be burning with fire.

She had no idea how she had gotten to wherever she was. All she remembered was Zuko asking for her help with dismantling some rebel group in a random island, going to said island, spotting the group and taking in unconsciousness. When she woke up, she was in a room with the woman that had imprisoned her eighteen years ago.

It made sense that Azula was with the rebels. After all, the Royal Family had practically disowned her when she cheated on Ty Lee, and everyone knew the princess was a psycho for power. What could give her more power than a group that would get her to the throne?

After almost fifteen years of her disappearing, it turned out that the princess was just coldly calculating her revenge. As Zuko had told Suki, there were many small rebel groups around the Fire Nation, but he never said anything about them being connected to each other. That was a smart move from Azula’s part.

Suki looked at the firebender with hate, as the woman simply regarded her with a cold gaze.

“I was rather hoping you would take the hint and thank me for saving your life. It’s not every day I save someone who isn’t Fire Nation.” Azula said, walking towards the table that stood beside her head.

“Where am I? What did you do to me?” Suki fumed

“Here,” Azula handed a cup to her patient. “drink this tea. It’ll help you with the pain.”

“I’m not drinking anything you give me. It could be poisoned for all I know.”

Azula sighed. “Why would I heal you just to poison you? You should know by now that I’m all about efficiency.”

“Tell me where I am!” Suki yelled

“Drink the tea and I’ll tell you. And watch your tone, I can make this recovery very painful if I want to.” The princess threatened. The Kyoshi warrior glared at Azula while grabbing the small cup of tea and slowly bringing it to her lips.

“It tastes horrible.”

“It’s medicine. It’s not supposed to taste good.” Azula rolled her eyes.

Suki put the empty tea cup on the table and faced her physician. “Now can you tell me where I am?”

“You’re in the Fire Nation.”

Suki groaned. “ _Where_ in the Fire Nation am I?”

“In my house. I know, it’s small for a princess. But nowadays nobody can ask for much out here in the country-side.”

“What’s the town called?”

“Since when did this become an interrogation?” Azula laughed as she grabbed some bandages.

“Since I came here on a mission to end the rebels and I end up waking injured at your home.”

“Interesting.” Azula grinned as she put on the bandage on Suki’s knee. “Which rebel group were you sent to dismantle? Was it the Agni Workers Socialist Movement, or the Fire Nation Traditionalist Union?”

Suki narrowed her eyes. “How do you know their names? Are you their leader?”

Azula couldn’t hold in her laugh. It was so hilarious that someone who she hadn’t seen for fifteen years appeared out of nowhere and began to accuse her of treason. Even funnier was the fact that she thought _she_ could be the leader of any of those two groups.

“Everyone out here knows who they are. They offer peace and prosperity to the people, so many of them join the movements. The capital doesn’t seem to notice how much people out here are suffering, and these parties do. And to answer you other question, don’t be ridiculous. The AWSM don’t want anything to do with the monarchy. If it were for them, everyone from the line of Sozin would be exiled or killed. And the FNTU is extremely conservative. They would burn me alive just for being bisexual.” She finished bandaging Suki.

The Kyoshi Warrior wanted to reply, but she had to admit Azula had her beaten. Zuko had not given her much information about the group besides their probable location and number, and the knowledge that they wanted Zuko off the throne. But there never was a briefing concerning their ideals or the why they were rebelling against the Fire Lord.

“Sleep now and come eat breakfast in the morning. You are not allowed to skip it, or your recovery will suffer.” Azula said coldly before grabbing heading out, leaving the tea and cup in the room. The princess closed the door, leaving Suki in the small room all by herself.

There weren’t many things in the room. There was a big wooden chest, a spear, and a calligraphy set Around the calligraphy set, there were dozens of written papers tossed around, some of them laid down while others were crunched. A big Fire Nation flag hung from one of the walls, and a poster for “ _Jandai: Bloodsucker of the West_ ” hung from another. There was a window that made the moonlight enter to the room directly to the bed.

Suki turned to the side to grab a little more tea. Despite being brewed by Azula, the tea had a good aftertaste, and it really helped relief her pain. The table where the tea was sitting had a small drawer beneath it. Slowly, without making any sound, Suki opened the drawer and found a small book and two pieces of paper.

It was invasion of privacy, but Suki couldn’t really trust Azula. She grabbed the book and opened it.

‘ _Globalization and its discontents’_ the title read.

Suki scoffed. Of course the princess of the Fire Nation, the princess who wanted the whole world to burn, would have a book about how globalization was negative. As far as she could see, people all around the world were happier now that the war was gone and there was free trade between the nations. The Earth Kingdom economy had stabilized throughout, and the Water Tribes economy had boomed tremendously.

She put the book in the drawer and took the two pieces of paper. The first one was filled with numbers and percentages, and more numbers. It was stuff that Suki, or any normal person for that matter, dreaded to see. There was only one person she could think of that enjoyed using their brain for that…but she didn’t want to think about Sokka. Years after their breakup and she still wanted to be together with him again, despite the fact that she had been the one who had broken up with him.

Suki quickly put that paper down on the drawer exactly where it had been.

Her eyes turned to the other paper, which laid on the bed where she was laying at. Her hands grabbed the paper and she began to read.

‘ _Father, I wish I could talk to you in person. As happy as I am here, I always wish to have you by my side. Maybe you could help me pass through the town without certain people throwing dirty looks at me, or maybe you could help me master the spear. Wherever you are right now, I hope that we may see each other one day. I have to say though, I’m not so happy with you being absent all these years. But, maybe I could forgive you one day if you prove to be worthy. Anyways, I doubt this will ever happen, so this letter will stay right here. Blah blah, yada yada yada, hope to see you whenever Agni desires it.’_

The hysteric side of Suki’s mind went to overdrive. This was certainly proof that Azula still had desires to see her father, Ozai. If this was true, then it wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Azula wanting to dispose of Zuko and put herself on the throne to make Ozai proud, or put Ozai directly on the throne once again.

The logical part of her brain, however, also took a turn. Knowing how Zuko’s and Azula’s relationship with their father was, it was not viable that the princess would write in such an informal manner. After all, _‘blah blah, yada yada yada’_ was not something you said to a man who burned down half of your sibling’s face. Furthermore, Azula was never known for fighting with anything other than her firebending.

But if this wasn’t her letter, then whose was it?

The Kyoshi warrior went to sleep after putting the letter away. It had been a sleep with no dreams. She woke up with the heat of the sun hitting her body, meaning that it was probably around early in the morning.

Suki sat on the side of the bed, thinking about how to walk without putting too much pressure on her wound. She scanned the room and found two crutches right beside the bed. How convenient.

It didn’t take much energy for Suki to use the crutches and walk outside the room. The hall was very small and simple, with only a Fire Nation painting hanging. She turned left and quickly came face to face with Azula and the back of a boy sitting at a small table, eating some rice and soup.

Before she could make a noise, Azula lifted her gaze and nodded. “Lee, help the patient sit down so she may join us for breakfast.” She said as she continued to eat her food.

The boy stood up and turned around, making eye contact with Suki. Her eyes widened involuntarily. The boy had one golden eye and one blue eye, which was swollen from what seemed to be a punch. His hair was straight and brown, but his skin was as pale as Azula’s. He had high cheekbones, which were common in the Royal Family of the Fire Nation, but also in the Water Tribes. His cheek was busted, which further supported the idea that someone had hit him repeatedly.

What struck Suki the most though was the scar on the left side of his chest. She had seen familiar scars before on both Zuko and Aang, which meant that she had a good idea who had caused the wound.

Despite all this, the boy gave Suki a warm smile as he helped her sit down on the table. It was a very comforting smile, which reminded her of someone. She just couldn’t place who exactly. Not Azula though, that was for sure.

“I hope you slept comfortably.” Azula said, eating some rice.

Suki narrowed her eyes. “Yes. Thank you for the tea.”

“It was no problem. Suki, I would like to present to you Lee Ten, my son. Lee Ten, this is Suki, an old acquaintance of mine and leader of the Kyoshi Warriors.”

The boy turned to Suki and smiled. “Good morning Ms. Suki. It’s an honor to meet the leader of the esteemed Kyoshi Warriors. Perhaps you could teach me some moves once you have recovered, if you are willing to do so of course. As you can see, I need to learn how to protect myself, because not every battle can be won solely on wits.”

“Well, I need to go as soon as possible to give a message to the Fire Lord, so I’m afraid I won’t be any help. Why doesn’t your mother teach you?”

“Mom is an expert on firebending, but I need to learn how to fight without using too much energy. Why do you have to go so soon? Wait, forget that You know the Fire Lord?!”

Suki furrowed her eyebrows at the boys enthusiasm. There was no need to become so excited about her knowing the Fire Lord, his uncle. In fact, why would he call Zuko the Fire Lord and not uncle?

Azula drank a little bit of tea. “Lee Ten, don’t bombard our guest with your questions.”

“But mom, she knows the Fire Lord! Maybe-”

“Leave the matter as it is.” Azula said sternly, earning a grunt from her son.

Suki was bewildered by the interactions between Azula and her son. There are signs of physical abuse, like the scar on his chest, but the way the family behaved was just like a normal family. In fact, it was as if this family loved each other, something Suki was sure Azula couldn’t do. Not after what she did to Ty Lee.

“Have you been in close contact with everyone from the palace?” Azula asked Suki

“I have correspondence with Zuko and Ty Lee.”

Azula put her head down and frowned slightly, almost impossible for Suki to catch. “How is she?”

“Last time we talked she said that she was very happy with Kim, much happier than she ever was before. There are also rumors of Kim possibly proposing to her, but I don’t know if that’s real. It should be though, if we’re basing the criteria of marriage on fidelity and love.”

Azula closed her hand tightly, her nails digging to her palm. If they had been as long as they were when she lived in the palace, there was no doubt her hand would’ve already be bleeding.

“I’m glad she’s happy.” The princess said in a low melancholic tone.

“Excuse me, mom, can I go to the clinic with you today?” Lee Ten asked, watching as his mother was showing very rare emotions for her standard.

Azula frowned. “Don’t you have school today?”

“Nope,” Lee Ten shook his head. “It’s Veterans day, so there’s no school”

“Why do students get a free day because of veterans?” Azula asked genuinely curious. It had been almost nine years since Lee Ten had started school, and she still did not understand why they had so many free days. It really put the public education system in perspective. If their children were not at school, then where would they pass their time? Where would they learn important material to improve their lives?

Logically, the poor budget of the school department and the low interest in education had been one of the downfalls of the Fire Nation. When she was little, schools were a place where children learned about their nation, but also about math and science. Without educated people, the nation would never prosper.

True, the schools before the end of the war had been indoctrinating, but at least pupils graduated with knowledge on how to make a good living. Nowadays, people from the outside of the city had a very bad education, which meant that they could no longer rise in the social hierarchy.

Once again, this had been Zuko’s fault. By trying to change the school system so that it would contain no Fire Nation propaganda, he completely forgot about other key elements in Fire Nation instruction. It was impossible to make Fire Nation schools teach the same way as Earth Kingdom schools. Yet that’s apparently what they did, and no effort on improving this problem has been noted.

“Maybe children have the day off so they can appreciate the effort of the veterans.” Suki said, breaking Azula from her thoughts.

“A better way to show our appreciation to the veterans would be to pay them their retirement money so they can buy food, medicine, and their mortgages.” Azula replied curtly.

“Anyways, can I go with you mom?” Lee Ten asked before a squabble could begin.

“No. Stay here with Suki and help her with the recovery. Change her bandages if they become dirty and give her some painkillers if she needs them. Make her soup for lunch with a side of white rice, nothing too strong on the stomach. Lastly, don’t bother her with too many questions. She needs to have peace in her mind for a full recovery.”

Lee Ten nodded his head. “Yes mother.”

Azula turned to face the Kyoshi Warrior. “Suki, I will treat you as any patient of mine. Stay sitting or lying down and don’t put pressure on your leg. If you need anything, let my son know and he will help you. I hope you have a pleasant stay at my home.”

As Suki was about to reply, the princess of the Fire Nation stood up from her place and walked away. She grabbed a bag and went to step outside of her home.

“Behave Lee Ten. I love you.” Azula said without turning around.

“Love you too mom.” Her son replied while stuffing his face with rice.

Once the door was shut, Lee Ten put his bowl of rice down and grinned at Suki. It was the mischievous grin, not the usual bloodthirsty grin Azula commonly wore.

“I know my mom doesn’t want me to ask too many questions, but I can’t help myself. You’re the first outsider I’ve met, and you even know the Fire Lord! The highest political connection I have is that my mother treated the Governor’s daughter, but that isn’t even that strong of a political connection. Anyways, there isn’t much to do inside the house, and my mom said that you shouldn’t move around. So, can I ask you questions? You could ask me questions if you want too!” Lee Ten ranted enthusiastically.

Suki had to take a few second to take all that in. She would’ve never expected for Azula’s son to be so energetic. Around his mother, he seemed like a normal teenager, with a poised character but with good character.

The Lee Ten that had emerged once Azula left the house was a completely different creature.

“Sure, you can ask me any question you want. And I’ll take a few questions I want to ask myself.” Suki kindly smiled. There were many questions surrounding Azula that she wanted answered, and who better to answer them than a clueless boy.

“Awesome! So, first question, where do you know my mother from?”

“We met each other when we were teenagers. We never met eye to eye on many things, but we still had friends in common, so we tolerated each other.” Suki answered honestly. She didn’t want to tell this boy, who seemingly had no idea about his royal lineage, about his claim to the throne. As things stood now, he would be third in line for the throne.

“Oh cool, like that Ty Lee she asked about?”

“Precisely.”

“Interesting.” Lee Ten leaned back on his chair. “You can ask your question now.”

“Did you get in a fight one of these days?” Suki asked. Since seeing the physical state of the boy, she had a tight feeling in her chest. She was concerned where that damage had come from. In other words, she wanted to know if Azula had been physically abusive towards her son. After all, the scar on his chest screamed that at her.

Lee Ten frowned slightly. “Oh, that. I got beat up at school yesterday.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Suki said

“I’m used to it by now. When you look like this,” he pointed towards his blue eye. “people tend to dislike you. Now it’s my turn for the question. What were you doing in the forest, and did that got you injured?”

“I was simply taking a tour of the Fire Nation when bandits attacked me. It had been around since I traveled.” Suki easily said.

“You could’ve just said you couldn’t answer my question.” Lee Ten said, sipping from his tea.

“What?”

“It was a lie,” Lee Ten smirked. “your pacing was a little off and you right hand moved slightly to the left, a movement you had only done when talking about Ty Lee. I could tell that you were lying to make my mother feel bad, so shame on you. Oh, and also you should think of a better cover up story. Nowadays pilgrims have stopped going through the Fire Nation because of all the hate crimes and kidnappings.”

Suki’s eyes widened in horror. She had thought that the Fire Nation had been going well by what Zuko had written and what she had seen at Caldera.

“Seeing as you evaded my question, I think it’s only fair that I make another one. Are people from the Water Tribes cool? I know their weather is, but their personalities, are they also cool?”

“Yes, they are. Actually, my ex-boyfriend was from the Water Tribe. He loved to use the boomerang.”

Lee Ten’s eyes widened, and he put on a smile. “That is awesome! I’ve read about boomerangs, but I’ve never met someone who has known someone who uses one of those!”

“It was also annoying.” Suki grumbled

The teenager laughed. “I bet. It’s your turn to ask now.”

“What do you think of the Fire Lord?”

“Well,” Lee Ten began to say, measuring his every word. “you know the Fire Lord personally, so I don’t want to say anything that accounts for treason. However, I do think that he is not doing a good job in terms of our economy or treating our people with respect, which is the cause of many of the problems we face today. I believe he has good intentions, but he’s stuck in the palace and doesn’t see the reality that we, the common people, live in every day. Does that satisfy you?”

“Yes, and can I ask, what does your mother think of him?”

“She says that he believes himself to be the savior of the world, focused on fixing our image to the other nations, but has forgotten about his own roots. She doesn’t think he’s a bad person, or that he has bad intentions and is harming our nation intentionally, but she _does_ think that the Fire Lord is unprepared to have so much work on his hands, like if he needs advice and help but does not get any.” Lee Ten explained, careful to not say anything that could put his mother in danger.

Suki nodded her head. “Sounds reasonable. And don’t worry, this stays between us.”

Hours went by and Azula’s son kept asking many questions, receiving honest vague answers from Suki. He asked many questions regarding Water Tribes and how life was in Kyoshi Island, while Suki asked about his life and Azula’s. The Kyoshi Warrior learnt a lot about the life Azula led on the town, now identified as Ido. It seemed the firebender had been practicing as a healer for almost 15 years, and as the head physician for almost six, soon after the pass of her mentor.

Once she had gotten all the information she wanted, as much as Lee Ten allowed, she asked for the boy to help her get some message to the post office.

“My friends may be worried for my lack of contact.” Suki reasoned.

Lee Ten raised an eyebrow but complied to the request, handing a paper and a brush for Suki to write her message. Out of respect, the teenager chose not to watch the message the woman wrote. He was curious, and a little distrustful about the message Suki was writing, but his mother had told him to give her anything she wanted. By Agni was he a good son.

“I’m finished.”

“Ok, can you please give me the paper so that I may put it in an envelope? Can you also give me the address where it’s going?” Lee Ten asked

“9075 Seitzo Street, Caldera City. And it’s for Ty Lee.”

“Got it, thank you. I also have to take my ink and brush to my room before it dries…so excuse me for a quick moment.” Lee Ten grinned as he picked up the stuff.

Once in his room, he hid behind his bed and quickly opened the letter. He hadn’t read it whilst she was writing, but he had to make sure the Kyoshi Warrior did not mention anything that could be harmful to him or his mother.

_‘Dear Ty Lee,_

_I hope this letter has found you well._

_It has been so long since I’ve seen you at your lowest, when you and Azula ended things. I am currently resting, for I have been wounded by some bandits in the woods. A healer has taken me in her home in a small town called Ido (Fire Nation)._

_I have missed you so much, and I have to tell you lots. But foremost, how has Zuko been doing? And Mai, could you tell me how she has been? I hope she has been eating. After all, that pregnancy sure took a lot out of her, but her baby is really cute from what I’ve hear, just like a mini Mai. And at least there’s a spawn to greet._

_Continue to be your happy self._

_Sincerely,_

_Suki’_

Lee Ten furrowed his eyebrows at the letter. I seemed as a normal letter a person would write her friend, but the wording had been awkward. A normal letter to a friend would’ve been written with fluidity. This was just too stiff, meaning that there was some inner message written somewhere there.

“Maybe it’s the first word of every sentence…no. The second one? Nope. What about…” Lee Ten murmured as he tried to decipher the code. It seemed to be harder than he previously thought, and it _was_ the first time he ever did this kind of stuff. He wasn’t a child soldier, and he didn’t have a fascination with spies, so there was absolutely no way he could decipher the code so fast.

Grabbing a paper, Lee Ten copied the message Suki had written and, once the ink had dried, folded it and hid it on his pant. As quickly as he could, the young firebender grabbed an empty envelope, put the letter in it, and sealed it with wax and a Fire Nation stamp (which he had one day found just outside of school).

“Sorry I took so long. I couldn’t find my stamp.” Lee Ten apologized as he entered the room where Suki had been sitting down. “I’m heading out to send this. Are you sure you don’t want anything before I go?”

“I’m sure. Thank you for your service.”

Lee Ten waved his hand. “It’s no problem. All part of being a good host and following mother’s instructions. I’ll be back soon.”

The postal office was very close to the town center, which was close to the well, which thankfully was very close to the firebender’s house. In a short five-minute walk, Lee Ten was already at the postal office.

The envelope in his hand felt very heavy despite only containing a single sheet of paper. Lee Ten knew that whatever Suki had written would affect him, but he couldn’t figure out how. It had been a harmless letter to Ty Lee, someone the teenager knew his mother cared about. Whatever was in the envelope, it couldn’t be too bad. Right?

He handed the envelope to the mailman and bowed down, showing respect for the people who had to work on a National Day Off. He turned around and got the copied version of the letter out of his pant. He read it dozens of times, trying to figure out any hidden messages in the letter.

“Maybe it’s the third word from last?” Lee Ten asked to himself, his patience wearing off.

His eyes widened as a message was uncovered. It was a clear message, not gibberish that somehow made its way into the letter. No, this meant something important. He turned around to see the mailman, but the officer was already gone.

Lee Ten leaned his back on the well, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. In his hands was the message that Suki, that woman, had sent out to Caldera. He knew what the message said, but he didn’t know exactly what it _meant_.

But one thing was clear. _‘Found Azula in Ido. Tell Zuko she has a spawn.’_ were two sentences that were bound to change his life.


	4. Royalty in Ido

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Ten finally finds out the truth about his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok next update may not be for a while because I'm at finals week and really need to study for Organic Chemistry and Philosophy. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It may not be my best one because I wrote it at 12am, but still, I hope you like it.

If there was one good thing about the town of Ido, it was how much importance they put into the arts. Despite being poor, full of cattle, crimes and revolutionary groups, the town still enjoyed and cherished their cultural heritage as much as they could.

Little children, for the most part, would learn how to play instruments and a certain few would develop love for poetry. As they grew, many of these children had to let go of their loved art so they could help their family economically, but whenever an artist was present at the town square, many of the residents would go an enjoy the show.

Lee Ten was one of the few children who never let go of their instrument. The Erhu, an instrument consisting of two strings and a bow, had been his favorite instrument since he was merely three years old. It had been perfect for him, because unlike the tsungi horn, it didn’t require for him to use his breathing (which was compromised because of his condition). It also allowed him to fully express his feelings into tunes, feeling as the chi in his body flowed with ease, just as the tunes he played.

Almost a week and a half after Azula healed the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, the fourteen-year-old firebender stood in the middle of the town plaza playing his instrument. Dozens of people stopped what they were doing and gathered around him.

He felt his hand playing a tune he was not familiar with, but somehow it calmed him down. Lee Ten paid no attention to the people enjoying his music, as his mind was present in the events that had occurred last night at dinner.

_Just as they had been doing for the entirety of her stay, Azula and her son sat at their table eating their dinner alongside Suki. For the most part it had been quiet, only common curtesy being exchanged. The dinner was once again meat and rice, just as it had been for weeks before. However, the ration had been less because of the extra mouth required to be fed._

_“I’m planning on leaving tomorrow.” Suki said out of nowhere._

_“What?!” Lee Ten exclaimed. “But your wounds still need to heal. If we don’t take care of it until it’s completely healed, you could catch an infection.”_

_“I think that a week and a half was more than enough time for my wounds to be infection free. Besides, I need to head back to my friends.” Suki replied_

_“Friends are not more important than health. They can wait until my mom tells you you’re ok to leave.”_

_Suki put her chopsticks down. “I need to leave tomorrow. Thank you for your hospitality, but you cannot keep me hostage.”_

_Something about the wording of Suki’s phrase hurt Lee Ten. “Hostage? My mom was simply making sure you were healed, but you NEVER thanked her for it. What’s more, you haven’t even paid us a single copper piece. Normally a consultation would cost one silver piece, but you have stayed at our house, eaten from our food, and yet you have the audacity to say that we are keeping you hostage. Why? Because you don’t trust my mom? I know that you don’t like her, but the least you could be is grateful for everything we’ve given you.”_

_“Grateful?” Suki scoffed. “After everything my mom has done to the world, and to me personally, this isn’t even a little bit of retribution. The one who should be grateful that she’s out of a fucking asylum is her.”_

_“How dare you?” Lee Ten said lowly, his golden and blue eyes peering down at the Kyoshi Warrior. “After everything she’s done for you! You have no idea how much work my mom does, and then she comes home and needs to take care of you, and you say that?! If you’re friends with the Fire Lord, then I have no questions about why the Fire Nation is in this state. You’re a bunch of selfish assholes who don’t consider the hard work of other people. Get out of my house you traitorous Earth Kingdom filth!”_

_“Lee Ten.” Azula interjected, a frown on her face. “Enough about that. Suki, could you please leave me alone with my son?”_

_The Kyoshi Warrior stood up, “I’ll be out of this house by morning.”_

_Once the auburn-haired woman was out of the room, Azula closed her eyes and took a deep breath._

_“Lee Ten, there’s something I have to tell you about my past.” Azula began to say_

_“Whatever it is, it’s no excuse to how she acted.” Lee Ten growled_

_“Please keep your commentary until the end of the story.” Azula said. “The reason I never told you this is because I wanted you to live a normal life in the Fire Nation, a life I could never have. I never wanted to hurt you or to make you feel like you couldn’t trust me, but I understand if you feel betrayed.”_

_“Mom, what’s going on?”_

_“Long ago, Fire Lord Azulon had two sons. The oldest one, Prince Iroh, married a noblewoman whom he loved dearly. The youngest one, Prince Ozai, had not fallen in love with anyone, and therefore had not married. One day, Fire Lord Azulon went to the Fire Sages, and they told him that if he combined the lines of Sozin and Avatar Roku, very powerful firebenders would be born. After acquiring this information, Fire Lord Azulon searched the entirety of the Fire Nation to find any descendant of Roku. Finally, he found a woman named Ursa, who was just in marrying age. Ursa, who already had a fiancé at her hometown, soon was forced to leave everything and everyone to marry Prince Ozai and live in Caldera City.”_

_“What does that have to do with anything?” Lee Ten asked confused_

_“Be patient.” Azula said calmly. “Prince Ozai and Lady Ursa soon had a son, whom they named Zuko, but the boy lacked a fire in his eyes. It took much convincing from part of Ursa to not have the young prince killed. However, Ozai was promised a strong child. So, he forced Ursa to have another child, one who could carry on the powerful Sozin bloodline with honor. One and a half year later, Lady Ursa had another child, a girl they called Azula.”_

_Lee Ten remembered reading the name on Suki’s letter to Ty Lee, but he never knew who this Azula was. They never discussed such things at school._

_“Azula was born with great fire, and Ozai soon favored that child. However, Ursa didn’t want that child as much as she wanted her first born. Azula had been forced upon her, and as the little girl grew up, she showed traits that mirrored Ozai. This made Ursa distance herself from her daughter, making Azula more vulnerable for Ozai’s manipulation. Zuko and Azula didn’t see eye to eye at many instances, as Zuko was always jealous of Azula for being better at him at both firebending and overall studies. But what Azula never told anyone was that she was jealous of Zuko for having mother’s love. Even when he failed to do something, Ursa was there to help him. But Azula had nobody like that, as Ozai only saw her for her power, not with love. She only had her cousin Lu Ten, who had gone to fight in the war when she was seven years old. Then, when Azula was nine, Lu Ten died in the siege of Ba Sing Se, which made General Iroh end the siege and return back to the palace in defeat.”_

_Lee Ten took notice how his name was very, very similar to Lu Ten’s. His mind started making connections as his mother went on with the story,_

_“Prince Ozai took this opportunity to ask Fire Lord Azulon to promote him to heir, as Iroh had lost his heir. But Fire Lord Azulon was furious at his son for asking this, so the Fire Lord ordered Ozai to sacrifice his firstborn. Ursa, however, learnt of this plot and gave Ozai another option. The next day, Fire Lord Azulon was dead, Ursa had gone missing, and Ozai had been declared Fire Lord.”_

_“But what happened with Iroh’s birthright?” Lee Ten asked_

_His mother shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, to be honest. Anyways, with their mother gone, Ozai became even colder towards his children: shunning his son and overtraining his daughter. Two years later, the famous Agni Kai in which Fire Lord Zuko got his scar took place.”_

_“Oh yeah, they teacher told us that at school. How Fire Lord Ozai ignored the pleads of Prince Zuko and scarred him and banished him until he returned with the Avatar. Then, three years later, Prince Zuko found the Avatar and chased him all over the world. But, after some things occurred, I don’t remember what, but Prince Zuko joined the Avatar and together they brought down Fire Lord Ozai and ended the war.”_

_“This is not the story of Zuko.” His mother said. “As I was saying before you interrupted me, Prince Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation. Fire Lord Ozai never intended for Zuko to return, as the Avatar hadn’t been seen in over 100 years. So, with only one heir left, Fire Lord Ozai focused himself into training Azula how to be the next Fire Lord. He taught her about the economics of the Fire Nation, about battle tactics, about how to never show emotions, and to always be perfect. For three years, Princess Azula trained all day, cut herself from her friends, and devoted herself to be her father’s perfect child. After all, his praise was as close as he would get to ever expressing some sort of love.”_

_“Can we skip to the part where you come up?” Lee Ten whined_

_“No, but I am not going to go over the end of the war in much detail because it’s unnecessary. Long story short, Princess Azula brought Ba Sing Se down in a bloodless coup by disguising herself and her friends as Kyoshi Warriors, helped get her brother back in their father’s good graces, even if it meant that she was no longer the heir, was betrayed by Zuko, and then she was betrayed by her best and only friends. Lastly, at the Day of Sozin’s comet, when she was going to go and burn the Earth Kingdom and end the war alongside Fire Lord Ozai, her father betrayed her and made her stay in the Fire Nation.”_

_“Burn the Earth Kingdom?”_

_“It was to stop people from resisting Fire Nation rule.”_

_“There would be no people to resist if there were no people in the first place. Sounds logical.” Lee Ten mocked_

_“Not the smartest decision in hindsight, but nonetheless, fact of the matter was that Azula was betrayed by everyone. Her sanity began to crumble. She saw hallucinations of her mother Ursa, she cut her bangs, banished almost the entire palace staff, and cried for the first time in years. Because of her non-existing peace, she was beaten in an Agni Kai by Zuko and Katara, a waterbender who is now the wife of the Avatar.”_

_“Is that when Zuko became the Fire Lord?”_

_His mother nodded with her head. “Yes. After the Agni Kai, Zuko put Azula in an asylum for a year before he requested her help to find their mother Ursa. But for a whole year, Azula was alone in the asylum, with no visits from anyone. I don’t want to go into much details about this, but after going with Zuko and the Avatar and his friends to find her mother, Azula found out that Ursa had chosen to forget all about her life at the palace. And what’s worse, Ursa had a little girl who she cherished with all of her being.”_

_“Ouch.”_

_“Azula ran away after that. In a forest, the hallucination of Ursa told her that her destiny was not to become Fire Lord, that she needed to search for her destiny. For the first time, Azula listened to the hallucination and decided to no longer become Fire Lord. When she did that, the hallucinations of her mother seized. Again, some things happened, but two years later, Azula was sane and living in the palace. She had mended her relationship with Mai and even started a romantic relationship with Ty Lee.”_

_Lee Ten eyes widened at the name of Ty Lee._

_“However, after three years of creating a tolerable relationship with every member of her family, Azula had a very big fight with Ty Lee. That night, the princess went and got incredibly drunk, as she tried to forget the fight and all the insults they had thrown at each other. Lee Ten, I am telling you now because I am your mother. I know alcohol is illegal right now, but if you ever get your hands on it, drink responsibly. It’s ok to drink, but never black out.”_

_“Wow, my mother is telling me it’s ok to drink.” Lee Ten grinned_

_“Well, I am not a hypocrite.” His mother smiled. “The next morning, Azula woke up in an empty hotel bed, but knowing full well what had happened that night.”_

_“Wait, what happened?”_

_His mother looked at his eyes. “Lee Ten, you’re fourteen years old. Even if you don’t have sex education at your school, you should know by now what sex is.”_

_“Oh…oh, well, proceed with the story.”_

_“Please don’t interrupt me anymore. As soon as she realized what she had done, Azula went running to the palace to tell Ty Lee and beg for forgiveness. Ty Lee cried and broke up with Azula, which was understandable. But then, when Azula’s family found out, they casted her out and told her to leave her home. The princess did so and, with nowhere to go, she left Caldera City. She went around the country until she found a small town called Ido, where she began to work in the clinic. Nine months later, she gave birth to a beautiful boy called Lee Ten.”_

_Lee Ten sat shocked at the implications of the story. If what was said was all true, then it meant that his mother was a princess, which would make him a prince. It didn’t make sense though, if his mother was a royal, then why didn’t she help the town? She clearly had leverage to help economically, even themselves!_

_“You’re Princess Azula.” Lee Ten finally said. “Why-how could you hide this from me?!”_

_“You heard the story. You know that being a part of the Royal Family is nothing to be happy about. I didn’t want you to live with that burden.” Azula said slowly, a tear falling from her eye._

_“I can’t believe this.” Lee Ten felt his eyes fill with tears. All his life, he had lived thinking that he was an average mixed-race boy, with a weak heart and a good mother. But now it turns out that he is a prince._

_His mind suddenly wanders to the letter Suki had sent. The one to Ty Lee, telling Zuko that Azula was in Ido and that she had a son. Him._

_“Mom, we need to get out of town.” Lee Ten said with a startled face_

_“No, we don’t.”_

_“But the Fire Lord is coming here for you!”_

_“I know.” Azula replied_

_“You…you know?! How?!” Lee Ten exclaimed_

_Azula nodded. “Yes. It was fairly obvious considering the fact that Suki of all people is here. She hates my guts. Also, you need to learn how to hide your letters better.”_

_“If you know that, then why aren’t we leaving?”_

_“There is no point in running. Everything happens for a reason. It is no coincidence that Suki is the one that was wounded in the nearby woods, and that I was the one to heal her. It has been fifteen years since I’ve seen my family. It’s time I face them and let them see how much better I am doing now that I have found my destiny. Besides, if I run now, I am admitting that I am guilty of whatever they accuse me of. I am not, therefore there is no reason to hide.”_

_“But what if they come here and separate us?” Lee Ten cried_

_Azula stood up from her place and went to hug her son. “Don’t worry. Nobody will ever separate us. I’ll make sure of it.”_

Lee Ten felt the tears running down his cheeks as he played the tune. He knew his mother would do everything in her power to keep them together, but what if that wasn’t enough? The world would not be the same without his mother to heal him when people hit him, or without his mother to give him exercises for his heart. She gave him life twice. Once when she gave birth to him, and another time when she made his heart work.

Suddenly, he heard the people around him mutter a lot. This never happened when he played, as the townspeople mostly just stayed mesmerized by his music.

Lee Ten opened his eyes to see that the people around him were parting to make way for someone walking down the dirt road. His eyes widened in fear when he saw a tall scarred man walking alongside a bald man with blue arrow tattoos, a water tribesman, and a woman wearing her hair in a braid. He recognized them as Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar. As for the other two, Lee Ten really didn’t know.

Everyone bowed down to the Fire Lord, including Lee Ten. He felt the sweat fall down his forehead as the Fire Lord stepped closer to him.

“Everyone may rise.” The Fire Lord spoke.

The mayor of the town, an average looking man called Buso, stepped in front of everyone and addressed the Fire Lord. “To what do we owe the pleasure of having the Fire Lord and the Avatar visit us today?”

“It has come to my attention that Princess Azula has been living here in the town of Ido.” The Fire Lord declared, making everyone gasp. “We ask that anyone who knows of her whereabouts please come forward and tell us any information they may have.”

“I apologize Fire Lord, but we are not aware of Princess Azula being present in our town.” The mayor apologized

Fire Lord Zuko frowned. “Do not lie to me. Princess Azula is living here with a child. If you are harboring her, it will be declared treason against the Fire Nation.”

Everyone gasped. Lee Ten could not believe what was happening. The Fire Lord was right in front of him asking for his mother and declaring treason to anyone who would help her.

“I assure you Fire Lord, nobody has seen or heard of the princess for years.” Buso said

“Why would harboring the princess be treason?” Lee Ten asked

Everyone turned to the teenager who had just addressed the Fire Lord so informally.

“Princess Azula is suspected of leading the rebel forces in this area of the Fire Nation, and therefore is to be apprehended for treason” The Fire Lord replied

“That’s bullshit. The only traitor here is _you_.” Lee Ten sneered.

The townspeople gasped at the reckless teenager who had just called the Fire Lord a traitor to his nation. Lee Ten, on his part, somewhat regretted saying that in front of so many people. But he also knew that these people were looking to lock his mother up for absolutely no reason.

“What did you just say?” the Water Tribesman asked

Lee Ten narrowed his eyes. “You come here after years of abandoning your people to ask for the Princess, who has nothing to do with the rebels. You, Fire Lord Zuko, have singlehandedly ruined the Fire Nation economy and made it one of the worst places to live. Every decision you make to bring “peace to the Four Nations” ends up screwing us over! Why do you think that there are rebel forces? It’s because the people are living in misery, and there’s nobody to blame but you. And now you come here, not because you’re going to see what’s going on outside your filthy rich palace so you can improve the lives of your citizens, but because you want to apprehend a woman who has done NOTHING! And even worse, you come to apprehend her with the Avatar and a Water Tribesman, when this should be a strictly Fire Nation manner. So, you tell me Fire Lord Zuko, who’s the real traitor of the Fire Nation?”

“Listen kid, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zuko said

“Yes, I do. Unlike you, I live here every day and suffer the consequences of your selfish actions. You think that just because Princess Azula tried to take your throne _once_ , she’s guilty of every fucking rebellion out there. If you looked at the rebellions in their ideologies, you would see that there’s no way in Agni that Azula would be the leader of either group.”

“Zuko!” a feminine voice Lee Ten knew far too well called from the back of the people. Suki, who had left his home that morning, appeared running towards the group of people.

“Suki!” the Avatar, Fire Lord, and the braided woman all yelled. The Water Tribesman looked away as the woman approached.

“I was hoping you’d be gone by now.” Lee Ten grumbled

“Zuko, thank the Spirits you’re here.” Suki said, completely ignoring Lee Ten. “She hasn’t fled yet.”

“This is such a good way to thank someone for saving your life.” Lee Ten said

Suki turned to face the teenager. “I’m doing what’s best for peace.”

“You know this kid?” the woman in braid asked the Kyoshi Warrior, who nodded in response.

“Yes, I stayed at his house during my stay at this town. Also,” Suki stepped forward to whisper something, but before she got a chance to, the yell of a name interrupted the scene.

“Lee Ten!” Azula yelled from the crowd. She was covered in blood, her hair in a ponytail and wearing no make-up.

“Azula,” Zuko growled, grabbing Lee Ten by his arm. “Suki was right. You were here, and it seems that not doing good deeds.” He said, watching the bloody clothes of the princess.

“Let go of me you psycho.” Lee Ten said, trying to shake away the Fire Lord.

“Zuko, let go of him.” Azula said, walking slowly towards the newcomers.

“Why do you care for a boy that’s half Water Tribe?”

“Maybe because she’s not racist?” Lee Ten suggested

Azula was fuming. “Because he’s my son you son of a bitch. Now let go of him.”

Zuko took a long look at his sister and then at the boy he was holding. There was a clear similarity between them, and it was undeniable that he was her son now that he knew the fact. But it still baffled the Fire Lord that his sister of all people would have a child with someone that is not from the Fire Nation.

“I will let him go if you agree to come with us without resisting.” Zuko finally said.

Azula locked eyes with her son, giving him a small but comforting smile.

“Alright. Let him go.” Azula said, putting her hands up in surrender. The Avatar walked towards her and put on some metal cuffs, then making her walk towards Zuko. The Fire Lord then let go of the boy, who went to hug his mother.

“You said we wouldn’t be separated.” Lee Ten murmured

“Don’t worry, you won’t.” Zuko intervened. “Your son is coming to Caldera with us. Not as a prisoner, but as a prince. It is his right as part of Sozin’s bloodline.”

“Not that that every mattered to you.” Azula said rolling her eyes, low enough so that only Lee Ten could hear her.

“Let’s go.” Zuko said, grabbing Azula by her arms and dragging her towards the end of town, where Appa was situated. However, as the group walked down the road, a group of villagers stood in front of them, completely blocking the way.

“What is the meaning of this?” Zuko asked

A middle-aged woman stepped in front of the group and began to talk. “Princess Azula has been helping our town for fifteen years, taking care of our sick and even helping us with monetary problems whenever she could. We, the people of Ido, refuse to have her arrested for crimes she didn’t commit.”

“Out of everyone in this town, Dr. Rina-I mean Princess Azula has been the one who cares the most about the well-being of every resident.” An old man stepped forward. “She helped my son when he had the red cough, and helped my wife walk again after years of being immobile. If you arrest her now, it will be a crime to the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Zuko.”

“Even if she had a mixed-race child, she is still more loyal to the Fire Nation than you ever will!” an older teenager, around 17-18 years old, yelled.

“She didn’t charge my family when we all contracted Smallpox, or when Fey had that hideous lump on his face! Free Princess Azula!” A man said in the crowd.

One by one, every person in the town began demanding for the princess to be released. The few firebenders present threw fire to the air, while other people grabbed their farming tools and approached the Fire Lord and his companions. From the mayor to little children, everyone told what the princess had done for them as Dr. Rina.

“Stop.” Azula said calmly, but with enough force so that every person from the town stopped their protests. “I thank you all for your hospitality and for giving me a true home, but it is time for me to return to the palace. I promise, I will do everything in my power to bring prosperity to the Fire Nation, so our children can have a worthy life. Stop fighting the Fire Lord, because even if we don’t agree with his decisions, he is still our ruler, and I know that you are not treacherous people. For now, I will leave with my brother, but I will return once more when everything is dealt with in the Fire Nation. When people have food for their children, and when you feel pride when you say that you live in Ido.”

“As you wish, Princess Azula.” The mayor of the town said.

Much to the surprise of the Fire Lord and his friends, the townspeople laid their tools on the ground and bowed down at the princess. The group then began to walk towards the sky-bison, who would carry them to the palace.

“How did you do that?” Zuko asked his sister, baffled at the response the townspeople had towards Azula.

Azula smiled as she replied. “Unlike you, I’ve earned the respect of the people of the Fire Nation by not being a complete failure of a leader. Now let’s go, apparently I have a trial to attend.”


	5. Appa's ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula, Lee Ten, and the rest ride on Appa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mediocre at best, sorry. Still, I think it may be entertaining for some people? I checked Mayo Clinic so hopefully the symptoms for Lee Ten are accurate.
> 
> Also, thanks for all the Kudos and comments. I love reading them!

The island in which the town of Ido was located, stood around a two-day ride on Appa from Caldera City.

Up in the front sat Aang, the Avatar, grabbing the reigns of the flying bison as he tried to meditate. The atmosphere on the saddle, however, was very tense. Lee Ten sat next to Azula, who was sitting next to Zuko against her will. Suki sat far away from the Royal family, and the braided-haired woman sat close to the Kyoshi Warrior. The Water Tribesman sat far away from everyone, as he seemed very uncomfortable with everyone.

“Zuzu, could you be so kind and take these shackles off of me? I promise I won’t jump off the beast…again.” Azula asked her brother, recalling the last time she took a ride on the ten-ton animal.

The Fire Lord scoffed. “Don’t think that I’ll believe your lies Azula.”

“Out of the two of us, I should be the one with the trust issues Dum-dum. Just unshackle me and we can talk like a family. It’s been, what, fifteen years since we’ve talked? I want to know how everyone is doing but feeling like a prisoner will not help the conversation get started.” Azula reasoned. 

“I think you should unshackle her. She hasn’t done anything wrong Zuko.” The woman with the high braid said.

“Ty Lee, you can’t possibly mean that. She has blood all over her clothes!” The scarred Fire Lord exclaimed

“If I may,” Azula began to say. “I had just finished performing surgery when someone came running telling me that my son was insulting the Fire Lord in the middle of the plaza. Forgive me for not having clean attire.”

“Maybe you should unshackle her.” The Water Tribesman voiced. “If she truly wanted to hurt any of us, she would’ve hurt Suki when she was staying at her house. Besides, I don’t think she would do anything that would endanger her son’s well-being.”

“Ugh, fine.” Zuko complied, grabbing the keys and unshackling his sister. “Don’t even think about running away.”

The princess rubbed her wrists. “Please Zuko, why would I even run away? I’m not a lunatic anymore.”

“So, you’re Ty Lee?” Lee Ten pointed his finger at the woman sitting next to Suki.

Ty Lee nodded. “Yes. And you said your name was…”

“Lee Ten! Now that I think about it, we have similar names. Weird, right?”

Ty Lee lowered her head a little bit, both in embarrassment and sadness.

“Lee Ten…” Azula warned her son. 

“Fine, I’ll try not to be so passive-aggressive. What’s your name?” The boy asked the Water Tribesman

“Oh, uh, Sokka.” The man replied.

Lee Ten grinned. “So, Sokka’s your name. You know, my favorite house guest told me all about you and your boomerang.”

“What?”

“I never told you his name!” Suki yelled from the other side of the saddle.

“You didn’t, but you just confirmed my suspicions.” Lee Ten reclined his back on the saddle. “It’s fairly easy to discern once all the pieces are there. You told me your ex was from the Water Tribe, and that he used the boomerang. So far, you two have not shared a single word in or outside the saddle, and constantly avoid each other’s gazes.”

“He’s like a mini Azula.” Zuko murmured

“You only say that because you haven’t gotten to know him.” Azula smiled

From Appa’s head, the Avatar turned around to face the group.

“Are you a firebender Lee Ten?” Aang asked the teenager.

The fourteen-year-old nodded with his head. “Yeah, but mom said I shouldn’t use it much.”

Everyone, with the exception of Suki, turned to the princess in surprise. This was the firebending prodigy they were talking about. A woman who was raised to think that everyone who was not a firebender was ultimately inferior, and that the purest form of power was shown from your inner fire.

Azula shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve changed my ways. Lee Ten’s too smart to rely solely on his fire.”

“Yeah, plus it gets really tiring. Three kata’s and I’m already way too tired to keep on going.” Lee Ten added

“Why don’t you train more and build up your stamina?” The Fire Lord asked

Lee Ten snorted. “You think I wouldn’t have done that if it was an option? I knew you were an idiot, but I would’ve expected you to be at least smarter than this. On the bright side, now we know that you’re not consciously trying to screw up the Fire Nation.”

“Lee Ten, stop insulting the Fire Lord.” Azula sternly told her son

“But mom-”

“No buts. You’re a citizen of the Fire Nation, and therefore it’s your duty to show respect to the Fire Lord.”

“But you called him dumb!”

“I can do that because I’m his sister. I’m the only person in the whole Fire Nation who’s allowed to do that. Am I understood?” Azula explained

Lee Ten sighed. “Yes mother.”

A few minutes of silence passed. The group tension was lower, but still high.

“Zuko,” the Avatar said. “I don’t think Azula is guilty of any crimes you wish to condemn her of. I also don’t think it’s right for you to imprison her for crimes she committed twenty years ago. Why don’t you just let her get re-acquainted with life at the palace and then let her help you bring the Fire Nation back to prosperity. I think it would be a good way to bring back true balance.”

“Aang, you know I can’t let her free. The last time she was free, she hurt the one person she swore never to hurt.” Zuko replied

“But you saw how the people of the town defended her. She has helped that town for fifteen years and became a person of great value and trust. There’s no doubt that she has changed for the better.” The Avatar reasoned.

“You can’t seriously be contemplating this! It’s Azula! She imprisoned me and brought down Ba Sing Se!” Suki yelled, tired of the indecisiveness.

“Ty Lee also did those things.” Sokka added. “And didn’t Zuko burn down your village? If he could get a redemption, why shouldn’t Azula have that chance?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe because when we gave her that chance she went and cheated on Ty Lee!”

“I’m sorry,” Lee Ten began to say. “but I personally don’t think that someone cheating is a cause for imprisonment. From what I’m hearing, the only reason you all want my mom to be in jail is because of personal reasons.”

“She brought down Ba Sing Se!” Suki yelled

“It was war. And may I need to remind you that it was a bloodless coup? If you imprison her because of that, then you should also imprison General Iroh, who actually laid siege in Ba Sing Se. Catch me with that double standard I dare you.”

Sokka chuckled.

“What’s so funny Sokka?” Zuko snapped

“He’s like a funnier version of Azula. I like him. Must be the Water Tribe running in his veins.”

“I see it.” Ty Lee said, speaking for the first time in a while. “They act extremely similar.”

Lee Ten mockingly bowed down.

“Ouch!” the teenager said suddenly. “Can someone take off my shoes?”

“Do it yourself.” Zuko said.

Before anyone knew it, Azula had sprung into action. She laid her son down as evenly as she could and got rid of his shoes. His feet and ankles were very swollen, and the boy began to apply pressure on his chest.

“It hurts more than before,” Lee Ten said in between breaths. His breathing quickened, and the fourteen-year-old began to cry.

Azula grabbed her son’s hand “I know it hurts. You’ll be fine soon. Just stay with me, ok?”

“What’s happening?!” Sokka panicked

“Avatar bring the beast down!” Azula ordered, turning her attention to her son. Without thinking twice about it, the Princess of the Fire Nation took her son’s shirt off and placed it behind his head as a ragtag pillow. As soon as she did this, Appa had landed in the middle of a Fire Nation forest.

Everyone around stiffened when they saw the scar on the boy’s chest. Zuko unconsciously touched his own scar, product of the same person and with the same shape. Aang’s breath stopped for a second, as he realized that the person he had been defending might not be so good after all. If she could do that to her own son, then what couldn’t she do?

Azula did not pay mind to the people around her. She was completely focused on healing her son, who was sweating from the extreme pain he was feeling. As she closed her eyes, the princess put her right hand on the scar and her left just on top of the stomach. The princess took a deep breath and focused on the energy flow on Lee Ten’s body. She found that the heart was overextending itself, and this seemed to be the cause of the imbalance.

Using her special technique, Azula put her hands just above Lee Ten’s body and began to swirl them around in opposite circles. Little by little, the quickened heart palpitations fell at ease, and the boy was finally relaxed. He was unconscious after such an attack, but Azula still grabbed him and hugged him close to her.

“You’re ok now.” Azula comforted her fainted son, but she knew she only said it so she could calm herself down.

“Is anyone going to ask what the fuck that was?” Sokka asked, still flabbergasted from the events that had just transpired.

“And why did he have a lightning scar?” Zuko added

Azula sighed “Lee Ten has a weak heart.”

“From what I heard, it didn’t seem like that.”

“It’s not figuratively. He _literally_ has a weak heart.”

“So, you shot him with lightning because he wasn’t perfect?”

Azula turned around to face her brother. Her face was furious, literal steam coming out of her nostrils.

“What kind of monster do you think I am? I would give my life for Lee Ten.”

“Then why does he have a scar? Only you and Uncle can conjure lighting…and I doubt that Uncle did that.”

Azula placed her son down, wiping the sweat beads on his forehead.

“Lee Ten’s birth was a hard one. I was alone in Ido, but thankfully, a woman named Dr. Misa helped me through it. I spent countless hours in agonizing pain, losing so much blood that Dr. Misa thought I was going to die. Then finally, after so much pain, Lee Ten was born. But he wasn’t crying, or moving, or even breathing. He was born without a life. I used chi reading to check what was wrong and concluded that his heart was not working properly. I tried to use other tactics, but when Dr. Misa told me that there was nothing I could do, I panicked.

“I had almost no energy, yet I took what I had and I shot him with a small amount of lightning, which caused him to scar. But after that, he began to cry. However, because his heart was injured during that, he’s now compromised in what he can do. That’s why I prohibit him from using firebending. It takes too much energy, too much chi that he constantly needs for his heart to function well.” Azula told the story.

“Oh…I’m sorry about that Azula.” Zuko said

“Don’t apologize for something you have no control over. Apologize for state of the Fire Nation.”

“What do you mean?”

Azula turned to her brother with an amused look.

“You really don’t know? I told my son to shut up before, but he was telling the truth. While you were stuck in the palace playing peacemaker, the Fire Nation has been suffering because of your negligence. And truly, every decision you make seems to have a negative effect on the people. I’m talking like this after spending time, years amongst the common citizens. I have no intentions of being Fire Lord. That wouldn’t bring me peace, and that is not my destiny. My destiny is helping the Fire Nation as best as I can. I did that by healing people, but now that you’ve taken me away from Ido, I want to help the Fire Nation be a better place to live from the best position possible. But, you don’t trust me, so I’ll just go to trial for treason.”

Zuko didn’t reply. He felt ashamed of himself, both because of the apparent effect his rule had on the Fire Nation, and because he truly could not trust Azula. Objectively, his sister seemed to have changed for the better. She had a son whom she cared about, the people of Ido had wanted to protect her, and she hadn’t really been as insufferable as she was before.

But all of this couldn’t really compare to the years of mental torture he received from her part. All of his childhood, Azula had been one of his worst tormentors. How was he supposed to simply forget about that and move on? The last thing he had done that, she had gone and hurt Ty Lee by cheating on the acrobat. Zuko knew how much Azula loved Ty lee, or at least how much she said she loved her. If she could willingly hurt someone she loved so much, then what was to say she wouldn’t just betray him when it is most convenient to her?

“Azula, do you think we could begin to fly again?” Aang asked Azula in his signature mediator tone.

The princess nodded, still looking at her son as any worried mother would her child.

“Yes, but please don’t make it so we fly so high. I think he had difficulty breathing at such altitude, which could’ve affected the rate at which his heart pumped blood. It’s just a theory, but I don’t want him to get worse.”

The Avatar nodded and ordered his bison to fly. They were just above the tree tops, so high enough so that the journey would be faster than going on foot, but not high enough to threaten the heart of Lee Ten. 

Azula put her son’s head on her lap as she stroked his brown hair tenderly. She felt someone approach, and when she lifted her head, saw Sokka with a coat.

“I don’t know if this will help, but whenever I feel sick I always put this on.” He said

“You’re giving me something that’s filled with germs then…”

“No! I mean, I clean it, so it shouldn’t be dirty with germs. It’s more for comfort. Maybe it’s psychological, I don’t know, but it does help. At least it helps me. So, I thought that it could help him be cozy when he’s feeling bad? Well, he’s unconscious, so I don’t know if he’ll know, but-”

“Thank you.” Azula interrupted the Water Tribesman ranting. She grabbed the coat and put it on Lee Ten.

Sokka smiled. “It’s no problem. If you think he needs anything else, let me know.”

“I will.” Azula smiled back, which didn’t go unnoticed by Suki.

The Kyoshi Warrior narrowed her eyes at this.

“Who’s his father?” Suki asked.

Azula stiffened. “I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to know?” Sokka asked

“It’s complicated. My actions that day led me to hurt the person I loved the most in ways I didn’t think were possible. But, he also gave me my son. Because of what happened, I finally found my destiny and got over my abuse. I regret it, but I also don’t. If I were to see his father, or knew who his father was, I fear that I may relapse again. I can’t do that, not now that my son depends on me.”

Zuko put a tentative hand on her shoulders and squeezed a little. Azula turned to face him, without moving her body.

“You’ve really matured Azula.”

“Of course I have. Despite not having a good model, I’m not a negligent mother.”

“I’m not going to make you go to trial once you get home.”

Azula’s eyes widened. “You’re not?”

Zuko shook his head. “I may not trust you, but I also believe that you’ve changed. It’s not fair for me to imprison you without evidence. It would make me a tyrant, and I like to think that I’m not one.”

Azula smiled. She didn’t expect Zuko to trust her. She knew he never would truly trust her. However, this was as close as they would get from having a tolerable relationship, and after being alone so much time, she was willing to take it.

“Azula,” Ty Lee spoke up

The Princess of the Fire Nation turned to the acrobat. Anybody could see that they both missed each other dearly but were still hurt by what had happened all those years ago.

“Ty Lee,” Azula replied. “How have you been? Suki told me you were with someone named Kim. I want to congratulate you, even though I’m sure you’re too good for her.”

“What? No, I’m not with anyone right now.” Ty Lee replied confused

“ _Really_ ,” Azula turned to the Kyoshi Warrior, who glared at the princess at every moment she had the chance to. “well, it seems like someone has taken my crown as the best liar out there.”

Ty Lee began to talk before a fight could break out between Azula and Suki.

“I was thinking that we could maybe grab a cup of tea and talk. It’s been a long time since we’ve done that. And, you know, since Zuko isn’t making you go to trial now, I think it would be a good idea?”

“Oh,” Azula sat surprised. “I suppose we could do that, yes.”

“But-but what would happen to Lee Ten?” Suki intervened. “He doesn’t know his way around the palace, and would most likely want to be close to Azula when he’s there.”

“Lee Ten can manage himself well.” Azula declared

“Still, you never know what could happen in the palace. Someone could try to assassinate him or kidnap him.”

“I have to agree with Suki,” Zuko said. “The palace is safe, but he will be new to it and should probably need someone to chaperone him. With his condition and all, he’s very vulnerable.”

“Just because he has a weak heart doesn’t mean he’s weak. Lee Ten has managed by himself while I was at work and while he was at school, so I don’t see a problem by him being alone in the _palace_.”

“Wasn’t he beaten up at school?” Suki asked

Azula crossed her arms. “Yeah, because they ganged up on him. He can handle himself just fine.”

“Azula, I don’t to run the risk of him being hurt.” Zuko said

The firebending prodigy was about to reply before being cut off by Sokka speaking.

“If you want, I could spend time with Lee Ten. I could teach him about the Water Tribe, so he could get to know that other side of him. I could also teach him to fight without the need of bending, and how to use my boomerang! I think it would do well for him. I’ll protect him if something comes up, but I’ll also be teaching him different techniques on how he can defend himself. What do you say?”

Azula smiled.

“I think that would be greatly beneficial to him. So, Ty Lee,” Azula looked at the acrobat and smiled. “remind me of the tea once we get to the palace.”


	6. Arrival to the Palace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula, Lee Ten, and the rest arrive at the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe the next updates will be quicker because I finished the semester, but I don't promise anything. I really love procrastinating, so that's a big factor there.   
> Also, thanks for the comments and kudos! I like this chapter more than the past one, but maybe people like the last one better. Idk, but I hope you enjoy it!  
> And please comment where you think this story is going if you can. Sometimes I have no idea what else to write, so reading comments and getting ideas is a really helpful way for me to keep writing.   
> Thank you!

When Lee Ten lived in Ido, he imagined the Fire Nation palace as this magnificent castle with servants going around, and gold columns holding the high ceiling.

What he saw in front of him was…different, but still magnificent.

From the ceiling to the walls, everything was Fire Nation red, but made with something that seemed like wood. It wasn’t a castle _per se_ , but it was still a very extravagant palace. It had a high tower with triple eaves at the center, and three distinct wings joining it. The servants wore different clothing than he had imagined, as they had some weird pointy hats on them, while the females wore some sort of robe. The palace stood in the middle of Caldera, which from the sky seemed to be a very big and busy city.

The journey had been far too long for anyone’s liking. Because Aang was under orders from Azula not to fly at a high altitude, the two-day ride from the palace to Ido was made a four-day one. This would’ve been hard if it had been a journey with friends, but it was unbearable with the tension within the group.

To be fair, the only strong tension had been between Azula and Suki, Lee Ten and Suki, and Lee Ten and Zuko. The Avatar, Sokka, and Ty Lee had all behaved appropriately and even tried to engage in conversation with the mother & son. Zuko, for his part, tried to create some sort of relationship between him and his nephew, but the son of Azula seemed to be denying any sort of familiar relationship.

Azula felt weird in all that ordeal. Sokka had been _nice_ , which had never happened before. He cared when Lee Ten was unconscious and seemed to be very worried for his and her well-being. The Water Tribesman had even begun to talk to Lee Ten about his culture and cool things he was now entitled to. At first, the weak hearted firebender was adamant to accept any culture that wasn’t Fire Nation, but by the third day, he started to listen to the lessons Sokka gave him.

Ty Lee had tried to talk to Azula, but Suki was making that a little too impossible. When Suki wasn’t paying attention or was simply too tired, the acrobat started to talk to Azula, only to find this somewhat hard. Every time Lee Ten came into view, Ty Lee could only remember Azula’s affair and how terrible and brokenhearted she had felt at the time. She tried to put it aside, but it was very hard. Still, the Fire Nation noble could not hold that against the teenager. It was not his fault that he was born from an affair.

As Appa descended from the sky, the group could make out four figures standing waiting for them. The first one was a small old man with a beard that was pointy on the sides. He had a big belly, and overall looked nice. The second figure was a tall woman, who must’ve been around 50 years old. She was wearing a red dress and her hands were clasped together in front of her.

The third figure was another tall woman, but this one had a crown on her hair. Well, the flame thing Fire Lord Zuko also had on his hair. Her clothes were very elegant, but her stance was too poised. It was obvious that this woman was not happy or comfortable with the passengers up on Appa.

The fourth and final figure was a young woman of twenty-something. Her hair was short and brown, and she held a resemblance with the second woman. The woman held a big smile and was the only one who seemed genuinely happy about Appa landing.

As soon as the sky-bison touched land, the Avatar jumped off the animal and greeted everyone with a bow. The next one to get off the animal had been Ty Lee, who jumped gracefully to the ground and enveloped the woman with the crown with a big hug.

Suki glared at Azula before getting off Appa and walking to be besides the youngest woman.

Sokka turned to Lee Ten and gave him a quick smile. “The easiest way to get off Appa is by sliding off the tail. It’s also pretty fun, so I truly recommend it.”

“I’ll get off with my mom, but thanks for the tip.” Lee Ten replied

“It’s no problem. Water Tribe look out for each other.”

“I’m Fire Nation.”

Sokka waved his hand. “Whatever you say little guy. In my heart, you’re one of us.”

The Water Tribesman slid off Appa by the tail, then made his way to greet every person with an awkward bow. It was clear that he was only bowing everyone for the show, and that he was in a more familiar standing with the people standing on the ground.

With only three left on the saddle, Zuko turned to face Azula and her son.

“I know it’s hard, but we have to get down. You won’t get arrested once you set foot on the ground, I swear on my honor.” Zuko said, putting his hand on Azula’s shoulder

The princess sighed. “That’s not why I’m worried. I just don’t want to see _her_ again.”

Zuko squeezed her shoulder. “It’s not going to be pleasant, but hopefully you can start from zero? This can be a new opportunity for you.”

“She has had too many opportunities Zuzu.”

“Mom don’t worry. I’ll always be by your side, so nobody can do hurt you.” Lee Ten said

Azula lifted her gaze and smiled at her son, who returned the gesture. “Alright, let’s get off this Agni forbidden beast.”

Zuko slid off Appa’s tail first, then was followed by Azula, who was followed by Lee Ten. The three royals approached the group, who all had different looks on their faces.

The old man smiled at the Fire Lord and gave him a hug. His friendly demeanor changed completely when he faced Azula, who stood glaring at all the figures in front of her. The older woman also gave Zuko a big hug, but she added a kiss on the cheek.

The princess eyes narrowed at this interaction, and Lee Ten noticed his mom’s actions. He guessed that woman was Ursa by the interactions between the Fire Lord and her and how his mother had reacted.

“Zuko, I already told you to stop trying to set me up with random guys. He’s more handsome than the past ones you’ve presented, but I don’t know him!” the youngest woman whined. Aang, Suki, Sokka, and Ty Lee tried to suppress their laughs. Zuko’s face turned red, and Azula raised her eyebrows.

Lee Ten’s face turned into one of confusion. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

“Really Zuzu? You couldn’t even tell him before you brought him here?” the woman laughed

“He’s not-” Zuko tried to say before the woman interrupted him mid-sentence

“I’m Kiyi, Fire Lord Zuko’s sister. Better question is, who are you?” Lee Ten’s eyes widened as he tried to form a sentence. “Well? Aren’t you going to answer?”

“I know Lee Ten has developed at a faster rate than other boys, but he is still only fourteen years old. And if that’s not a red flag, maybe I have to tell you that he’s my son. Refrain from trying to marry or spend the night with your nephew.” Azula said stoically.

Uncapable of holding it in any longer, Sokka burst out laughing, which made Aang, Suki, and Ty Lee also laugh out loud.

Sokka walked up to Lee Ten and patted his shoulder. “Oh, you truly have Water Tribe in you. I have got to teach you how to use your natural charm.”

“You will do no such thing.” Azula snapped

“Why isn’t she in chains?” the woman with the crown asked.

“Hello to you too Mai.”

“We talked it over and determined that there was no reason to imprison her or make her go to trial. Instead, she will help the Fire Nation return to its former glory.” Zuko replied with authority

“Are you sure that’s a good idea nephew? Her past ideas have brought much…violence.” The old man, who Lee Ten now figured was General Iroh, expressed

“Yes, I’m sure. All of us were wary at first but Azula has showed us that she has changed for the better.”

“Wait wait, are you General Iroh?” Lee Ten asked the old man, trying to see if his suspicions were correct.

The old man turned to the teenager and nodded stiffly. “Retired General. Now I’m only Lord Iroh.”

Lee Ten smiled. “Of course. If that’s the case, I don’t think you’re in a position to judge my mother for her past actions. After all, didn’t you lay siege in Ba Sing Se for more than 600 days? How many people died there? You only stopped when Lu Ten died, but how many people gave their lives for their nation in battle before him? I doubt you cared much back then about bringing violence in your ideas. And don’t give me that _I changed_ bullshit. When you reclaimed Ba Sing Se for the Earth Kingdom at the end of the 100-year war, only like six years had passed since you laid siege on the city. My mom has been away for _fifteen years_. If you say anything against her because of her past actions, if you say she couldn’t have learnt anything, I’ll just say that you are a hypocrite.”

“Great, another over-analyzer. Just what we needed.” The woman with the crown sneered

Lee Ten turned to the woman with a curious look. “Who even are you?”

“Fire Lady Mai. You should’ve learnt to show respect to royalty.”

“First of all, I’ve only heard of you like once in my life, therefore your life is irrelevant. Second of all, I’m royalty too, so I won’t show my respect if I don’t think you deserve it.”

Mai narrowed her eyes. “You’re not royalty, you’re a bastard child.”

“At least I have the blood of Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku flowing in my body. Who do you have? Some dull politician who probably profited from the war?” Lee Ten replied tauntingly

“Every time he speaks I understand more why the kids beat him up at school.” Suki whispered to Zuko.

Lee Ten heard this and turned towards the Kyoshi Warrior. “The only reason they beat me up was because they were racist pieces of shit. I’m only saying what everyone is thinking but is too afraid to say.”

“As much as I’d like for you all to learn your place, I must say that I’m pretty tired from the four-day ride up on the smelly beast. Can someone show me my room? That is, if I even have one anymore.” Azula spoke up.

Everyone’s gaze fell on Azula, who just crossed her arms waiting for someone to show her to her chamber.

“I can show you to your room if you want,” Ty Lee was the first one to speak up.

Azula gave the acrobat a quick smile. “Sounds good. Shall we head now?”

The acrobat nodded and went to grab Azula’s hand, who stiffened by the touch. Against her better judgement, a deep scarlet blush rose up to her cheeks.

Lee Ten looked at his mom’s face and grimaced. He didn’t want to see his mom become this blushing entity. She was Princess Azula! His _mother_! Nobody wished to see their mother like that.

“Wait, where will I go?” Lee Ten asked

Azula turned her face towards him. “Stay here with Sokka and Zuzu. You should get to know your family.”

“Shouldn’t you reconcile with them, or at least try to?” Lee Ten argued

The princess raised her hand. “That’s beyond all realistic possibilities. For now, we should be happy that they’re not asking for my bed to be inside a prison.”

“I still think she should be arrested.” Mai interjected

“And _I_ think that your input is unimportant. Your only job is to make babies, and maybe being an advisor. However, if you are an advisor, I must tell you that you’re doing a horrid job at it.” Azula replied. “Shall we go now?”

Ty Lee nodded, and the two women walked away from the group.

“Well, that was fun. Unfortunately, I must also get going because I don’t want to spend another minute around you people, so goodbye.” Lee Ten began to walk away before being grabbed by the shirt.

“Don’t walk away. Introduce yourself to everyone.” Sokka said, grabbing the young man by his shoulders.

The teenager wrinkled his nose. “You’re not my mom. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“But your mom put you in my charge, so it’s as if I were your parent. Now, introduce yourself to your family.”

“Fine,” the fourteen-year old rolled his eyes. “my name is Lee Ten. I’m from a small town called Ido, and I’ve lived there all my life. I didn’t know my mom was a princess until like a week ago, and I still don’t know how to fully feel about that. I’m half Water Tribe, but I’m sure you can all see that. I liked using my spear, which is back home, and writing poetry, which is also back home.

“Let’s see what else…I’ve read a lot about economy, so I have a good idea on how to solve the problems the Fire Nation is having. My mom also has good ideas, but I doubt you’ll actually pay mind to what she has to say. Not that you’ll listen to me, but there’s a greater possibility. I read a book about economic globalization and how to use it in your favor, but that book is also back home. Now that I think about it, everything I own is back in Ido. I think we should go back to Ido and bring my stuff back, along with getting a doctor to the town.”

“Why would the town need a new doctor?” Zuko asked

“Because mom was the doctor there. Without her, everyone in town will be left without a physician. Do you know how many people already had appointments with her, and now that she’s gone, they’ll probably die?”

“Did she have some sort of apprentice?” Sokka asked

Lee Ten rolled his eyes. “Yeah, me. And I’m gone too.”

“I’m sure they can go to another doctor.” Mai said in monotone

“You mean the nonexistent one in Ido, the dead one, or the one in Ulina? If you mean the one in Ulina, then I must remind you that Ulina is located in a nine-hour journey by Dragon moose, and the road is filled with bandits. If you’re a pregnant woman, or simply a person who’s sick, I doubt that you’ll want to make a dangerous nine-hour drive to Ulina of all places. Besides, the doctor in that shit town is horrible. I think he has harassed almost every woman, little girls included, and he’s just a horrible doctor overall. Mom was extremely good at her job, so good that people came from different parts of the nation to get treated by her.

“I just remembered, a classmate of mine is pregnant and mom was going to help deliver the baby. There aren’t any midwives at the town, so she’ll probably die giving birth. So good job Fire Lord Zuko, you have managed to screw up the Fire Nation even more.” Lee Ten sarcastically clapped his hands, making the Fire Lord furious.

“Isn’t fourteen a little young to be having a baby?” Aang spoke up, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

Lee Ten shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, some people conquer cities at fourteen, others get pregnant. Besides, what did you think was going to happen when you mix poverty with bad education? Teenage pregnancies, that’s what. And to think you all doubted me when I said that the Fire Nation is in decline.”

“How old was the youngest girl to get pregnant in your town?” Kiyi asked, curious at this side of the Fire Nation she didn’t know about.

“Twelve, and she was a bitch. Her name was Yaling, and nobody knows who the father of the baby was. When her family found out and asked her about it, she told that I had impregnated her. They believed her because of my Water Tribe heritage, and so her brothers came to my house and tried to kill me. They almost did, but then mom arrived and beat the shit out of them. They came out of my house with 3rd degree burns and mentally scarred. Then my mom healed me, and Yaling came crying and apologizing for lying and almost causing my death. Unnecessary story, I know, but I just love making all of you uncomfortable with tales of my childhood.”

An awkward silence followed the story, as nobody knew what to say after such a tale.

Zuko cleared his throat before speaking. “Um, Lee Ten, this is my Uncle Iroh, but you already met. Next to him is my mother Ursa, your grandmother. Then is my wife, Fire Lady Mai. And finally, there’s Kiyi, my sister and your aunt.”

Lee Ten bowed down, even though he didn’t want to.

“Not a pleasure, but still it’s good I met you all. I just have one thing to say to each of you. Stay away from me pedo,” he pointed his finger at Kiyi. “anything you say is irrelevant in my mind,” he said as he pointed at the Fire Lady, “you’re a hypocrite but I like tea, so I’ll try to be civil towards you.” Lee Ten pointed his finger at Iroh.

He then turned towards Lady Ursa. “You. You have no excuse for having treated my mother the way you did. I mean, who the fuck decides to just forget their children. You left them with an awful man, and then took the conscious decision to just forget them. They probably waited for you to return one day, to show them you loved them, but you just said ‘ _Oh, my life was too hard. Let me just restart.’_ And forgot all about them. And I know that Ozai was a bad man and whatnot, and that my mother’s conception was not under the best conditions, but that still doesn’t mean that you get to treat her like you did.

“Little kids are impressionable, so if you didn’t spend time with her, who do you think she was going to behave like? Again, I know that her conception was not good, but that’s still no excuse for you to treat her like you did. My conception wasn’t wanted either, and my mom lost everything when she created me, but she still loved me and raised me all by herself. You can try to mend your relationship, but I don’t think my mom owes you another chance. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.”

Lee Ten walked away while everyone stood paralyzed by the shocking words of the insufferable teenager. He didn’t seem to know when it was proper to say things, or what things should be left to the mind. His sense of societal interactions seemed to be none, but they really couldn’t expect better from the son of _Azula_.

The teenager turned around and stopped in front of Sokka.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

“I’ll show you. And maybe later we can do something together.” Sokka replied.

Lee Ten nodded. “Sure, just make it away from them. Except Aang, he’s cool.”

The Water Tribesman and the half-Water Tribe teenager walked towards the palace together, leaving the Royal Family, Suki, and Aang standing still next to Appa. So far, their interactions with the son of Azula had been expected, but the rejection still hurt. What hurt the most, however, was that everything he had told them was the truth (except for Kiyi’s bit, that was a simple misunderstanding).

As this happened, Azula and Ty Lee walked towards the west wing of the palace, where some of the bedrooms where located. The bedrooms inside the palace were all elaborate and big, with lots of decoration and space befitting the Royal Family and their guests. Of course, the guest bedrooms were a little smaller and less intricate, but they were still high class and well-above the average Fire Nation citizen’s bedroom.

The pair walked in a comfortable silence. There wasn’t a necessity for them to convey in a conversation. Whatever they had to say to each other could wait until they were both settled in and actually have time to dig into the topic. They had parted on bad terms, and fifteen years apart was not the best thing to mend a relationship.

Feelings still existed between the two of them, but now other factors came into play. They were no longer teenagers who suffered through the trauma of war; now they were adults with different responsibilities. Azula was no longer the cold princess who only showed tenderness towards Ty Lee, she was now a mother who put her son in front of everything. If their relationship was to start again, it would be under the assumption that the acrobat would have a role of the stepmother. Neither of them wanted to dig into the schematics of such a scenario, so they simply walked towards the bedrooms.

They stopped in front of a tall door.

“Here we are. It’s your old room, with everything still intact inside. The servants have come to clean, but they left everything just like it was when you left.” Ty Lee said.

Azula reached the door handle slowly, grabbing it with great force. Behind that door was everything she had before she had found her destiny. The princess slowly opened the door, her eyes roaming through every inch of her old bedroom. Her scrolls still laid on her desk, and her bed still stood with the 2cm separation from the wall.

“I didn’t think my property would still be here.” Azula said, touching her scrolls with her fingertips, trying to captivate the happy memories of her time at the palace.

Ty Lee entered the room and stood in the middle of it, her gaze following Azula as the princess inspected the room. “A lot of people thought the room should be cleared, but Zuko didn’t. He said that even though you were probably evil, you were still his sister. Kiyi also defended you with all her might.”

“Zuko always had the hope that we could become a perfect little family, and Kiyi was a sweet child, as hard as it is for me to admit it.” Azula sat on her bed and lifted her gaze to meet Ty Lee’s eyes. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Did you want my room to be cleared, or were you hoping that I might return one day?” Azula asked

Ty Lee stayed silent for a moment, diverting her eyes from Azula and looking at the ground.

Azula sighed. “I see.”

“You have to understand Azula, I was heartbroken. All I wanted to do at the time was destroy everything that reminded me of you and wallow in my own despair. You hurt me, and sure you apologized, but you still left that same day. You abandoned me.” Ty Lee explained, making eye contact once again when she said the last statement.

“It’s not like I had a choice Ty Lee. Mother told me that I had to leave the palace, and so I did.”

“But you have never cared what your mother told you… You know what I think?”

Azula scoffed. “Enlighten me.”

Ty Lee narrowed her eyes. “I think that you just chose that as an excuse to escape and avoid the consequences of your actions.”

“Come on Ty Lee, you can’t be this ignorant. I lost _everything_ when I had to go away from the palace. I had to raise a child on my own and make a living on my own as a peasant. Not everything is about you.”

“You still left me alone!” Ty Lee yelled, tears coming out of her eyes. “You hurt me, faced me once, and fled. Do you have any idea what I felt at that time? Even now, I still feel like you would not change anything if you had the chance. How can I know that you won’t do that again, if given the chance?”

“Well first of all, alcohol is illegal now, so I doubt I would have the opportunity to do it again.”

“Is this just a big joke to you?” Ty Lee questioned

“No, but you’re blowing it all out of proportion.”

“You cheated on me.”

Azula nodded her head slowly. “And I apologized for hurting you.”

“But you don’t regret it.” Ty Lee stated.

“No, I don’t.” Azula said, daring Ty Lee to reply. The acrobat simply stared at the princess, her vision blurring due to the tears in her eyes. “Can we talk about this later? I’m really tired right now.”

“Fine. We’ll talk about this tomorrow over tea.” Ty Lee said before she walked out the room, closing the door with her.

Azula sighed and stood up from her bed, making her way to the desk filled with scrolls. The princess sat down on the desk chair and relaxed. If everything was left untouched, then there was a document that was supposed to be left in her desk.

On one of the drawers of the desk was a secret drawer, where a special scroll was placed. Azula smiled when she saw that the scroll was still intact. She rolled open the scroll and looked at the content of the scroll with melancholy. It read _Ideas for proposal to Ty Lee_ , but it didn’t really matter now.

Their relationship was over, and she doubted they could ever reconcile as they once were. But she couldn’t just throw away the scroll. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Azula didn’t want to believe that she would have no use for this. She had spent so many hours on that scroll, perfecting each and every option to the last detail, only for it to be in vain.

Azula closed the scroll and placed it on the secret compartment. There was no use dwelling on the past or regretting the past. She couldn’t change what had happened, and even if she could, she wouldn’t. That was the thing with life. When something good leaves, another thing comes. It’s a give and take, and everything that happened helped Azula become the person she was now.

With a sigh, the princess made her way to the bed and laid down. It had been ages since she laid down on such a comfortable bed. Azula closed her eyes and relaxed, feeling all her anxiousness wash itself on the comfort of the bed. Tomorrow would be a dreadful day, and she needed to be well rested to be able to deal with it. And if Lee Ten kept behaving as he did today, the princess needed to be ready to spend her entire day doing damage control.


	7. Advisor meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula goes to an advisor meeting and helps with the first step to rebuild the Fire Nation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. My life was kind of chaos. 
> 
> Got sexually assaulted by my now ex-boyfriend, and when I went to write, I just couldn't do it. So I apologize, but it really wasn't my fault? Still, I'm sorry :)
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. It's basically just Azula being a brain and proving everyone wrong.

It was tradition for the Royal Family to share breakfast and dinner every day. It had been fifteen years since the last meal was shared by the complete Royal Family (with the exception of Ozai), which made the first meal all the more awkward. 

Tensions were running high in the family, the only person unaware of it being Izumi, Fire Lord Zuko’s one-year old daughter. However, from Ursa to Iroh to Lee Ten, the Royal Family was not in the best of terms. The breakfast was also going to be shared with Zuko’s friends: Sokka, Aang, Suki, and Ty Lee. All of them had helped bring Azula back to the palace, therefore were invited as honorary guests to the familial meal. 

The seating arrangement had been prepared by Fire Lady Mai, who had seemingly decided to make the worst seating arrangement ever. Zuko sat at the head of the table, her sitting on his right and the Dragon of the West sitting to his left. Next to Mai sat Kiyi, who had Lee Ten by her side. Besides Iroh sat Azula, and next to the Princess sat Lady Ursa. Suki was sitting beside Sokka, who was sitting beside Lee Ten. Ty Lee sat next to Ursa. 

Everyone in the Fire Nation, regardless of whether or not they could bend fire, woke up with the sun. It had been a practice implemented by Fire Lord Sozin, and one which was almost impossible to get rid of once it had been adapted as part of the general culture. Because of this, the royal breakfast was set at a very early time of the day. The royal family and Fire Nation citizens did not make a scene out of this arrangement, but the foreign guests were not used to this. The time of the breakfast had been excruciatingly cruel on Sokka, who had been woken up by a servant and had whined about his lack of his sleep for the first five minutes of the day. 

Even if the Fire Nation was not thriving economically, the Royal Family still got to enjoy a certain lavish lifestyle. The servants brought a tremendous amount of food, varying from Water Tribe dishes to traditional Fire Nation ones. From spices to different kinds of animals, the food at the table was clearly one of the best and most diverse plates in the entire planet. 

Soon after the food was placed on the table, everyone around began to dig into the food. Avatar Aang took strictly vegetarian dishes, while Sokka had gone straight for the meats. Azula had narrowed her eyes at the comically large amount of food brought to the table, feeling some sort of resentment towards her own family. She never would’ve thought that she, one of the most classist persons in the entire world, would one day find this blatant disregard for food as offensive.

Lee Ten sat still as he saw the foods. Growing up in Ido, the teenager had never experienced such a vast quantity of options to eat. Most days it was just rice and meat, which was much more than other people in his town could eat. Even if it was filled with cattle, Ido still had a malnourishment rate higher than that of the Water Tribe during the 100-year war. He couldn’t even imagine how it was like in towns that were based off mining or other types of non-animal or non-agriculture source of income. 

“You have to try the Seaweed noodles. It’s from the Southern Water Tribe.” Sokka told Lee Ten, putting a plate filled with the soup in front of the boy. 

Lee Ten grimaced at the smell. “I’ll try the soup once I’m more used to new flavors. For now, I’d really just prefer eating Fire Nation foods I haven’t tried yet.”

“Alright, but you better try it before I leave.” The fourteen-year old nodded with his head before grabbing some more authentic Fire Nation dishes. 

The rest of the table kept eating, with an occasional glance at their most hated person of the table (this being Azula in many of the cases). The Princess on her part was simply eating, savoring the foods she had loved when she had lived in the palace that she could no longer obtain or afford living as a peasant in the Fire Nation. 

“Thank you for the breakfast invitation Fire Lord Zuzu,” Azula said as she ate a meat dumpling. “it has been a while since I’ve eaten like a princess.”

Zuko gave a small smile, “The whole family is invited to breakfast, and you’re part of the Royal Family.”

“Naturally.” Azula nodded. Her gaze moved to look directly at the Fire Lady, who was eating some gruel. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but there are two members of our family who are not eating with us today. One of them has a legitimate excuse, being imprisoned and all. But the other, I would’ve though a princess would have a seat reserved at the table.”

“Izumi is with the wet nurse in her room.” Mai replied, narrowing her eyes at the prodigy firebender.

“That practice is so backwards. You should be the one who breastfeeds your child.” Azula stated

Mai dropped her chopsticks on the plate and glared at Azula. “Who are you to say that?”

“A doctor, but a mother above all else. The bond between mother and child is always strong, but it gets stronger when breastfeeding is done. Mothering behaviors like caressing, making eye contact, and using affectionate language help both the child in development and the mother. It is also beneficial to the mother because it helps with the release of a hormone, which will make the mother have lower risk of having anxiety and postnatal depression. If you need proof, just look at mother’s relationship with me and Zuko. She breastfed Zuko while a wet nurse breastfed me. You can clearly see the difference between the bonds.” Azula explained

“Mothers who breastfeed also have lower rates of tumors in their breast, or ovarian illnesses. The hormone released also causes the uterus to contract and decreases the amount of bleeding after giving birth, which can cause some problems later on if not treated.” Lee Ten added, feeling like he could state some input in the conversation. 

“That is true. It can also help with reducing the probability of developing blood and/or heart disease. That’s why I always recommend my patients to breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months at least. They could continue until the 12th month if the bond between mother and child is strong.” Azula said

Mai grumbled silently on her chair for a few seconds before returning to her food as if nothing had happened. The rest of the table sat silent, staring at Azula as if she had just revealed a secret portal to the Spirit World. 

“Why didn’t the Royal Physician tell us about all of that?” Zuko asked

“Mostly because only few people have actually studied it with as much depth as I have, therefore it’s highly likely that he wouldn’t have known about that. I am the best doctor in the Fire Nation, probably the world.” Azula replied

Sokka put his hand up as if to ask a question. “I doubt that. Not that I don’t trust this new Azula-” 

“You shouldn’t trust her.” Suki interjected

“but I’m pretty sure Water Tribe healers are the best doctors in the world. They use their waterbending to heal.” Sokka continued to say, completely ignoring his ex-girlfriend.

“I had a feeling you would say that.” Azula began to say, taking a sip of her ginger tea. “Being a healer and being a doctor are two different things. Both heal people, but a doctor has a scientific background behind it. What makes me different from the rest is that I’m the first person to fully combine both the spiritual spectrum of the body with the scientific one. Everything is connected, and as far as I know, I’m the only person who has been able to fully heal a person using these two aspects simultaneously. As for the waterbending aspect, I use firebending in my healing, so they can’t up-hand me from that side.”

Kiyi’s eyebrows furrowed. “How can you use firebending to heal?”

“The body is a meat sack filled with organs and blood and other disgusting things. However, a person is not merely the body: a person has a mind and a soul. In order for the mind/soul and body to work effectively, it needs to be completely in balance. This is where the chakras and chi come in. The body has seven chakras, and the chi flows through the chakras and on the rest of the human body. Many illnesses come from a disbalance between the chi, chakras, and the body. Thankfully, because the chi is basically energy, I can use my firebending to bring balance back to the body, which in most cases help many patients with grave illnesses. If that doesn’t work, then I simply go into a more traditional method and either prescribe them some medicine or open them up and fix the problems they may have.”

“Isn’t firebending all about destruction?” asked Suki, who was clearly apprehensive about all this new information. 

Azula scoffed, “It’s clear that someone as uneducated as you would think that. Fire, and by extension firebending, is seen as this destructive power, which was mostly due to the 100-year war. However, fire is what gave humans life. Without fire people in cold climates would freeze to death, and meat would not have been able to be cooked, which helps in the development of the brain. It also gives us light, and the sun gives us energy for agriculture. But, foremost, firebending is all about energy, and energy is what makes the world around us.” 

The table sat silence for a bit. Most of the guests were watching Azula intently after her display of knowledge, which had been relegating to them. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to say that fire was important, but almost nobody had given such concise examples and still been able to make a strong point. 

“How did you reach that conclusion?” Iroh asked, sipping some of his Jasmine tea

“You could say that I had an epiphany. Or you may also say that I analyzed fire to its purest component and how it has affected the way we live from the pre-history. Either way, I know I’m right.”

“Azula,” Aang began to say, making the princess raise an eyebrow. “I know that we’ve had our ups and downs, but I feel like you truly have come a long way since we last saw you. For Iroh, Zuko and me to reach that conclusion, we had to go to the Sun Warrior ruins and learn from their transcript. You were able to realize that all by yourself, and I have to say that I admire that about you.”

“Thank you, Avatar.” Azula replied courtly. 

The rest of the breakfast went by without any interruption or meaningful conversation. Everyone finished their dishes around the same time, which left them time to go to their respective responsibilities. This, in some cases like with Sokka and Ty Lee, was simply not causing havoc. 

“Zuzu, could I join you in the meeting today? I think that it would be in the best interest for the Fire Nation to start rebuilding our nation as soon as possible.” Azula said

Fire Lord Zuko thought for a minute before nodding his head in approval. “Yes, you shall join us. However, please be mindful about your words in the meeting.”

“As you wish.”

“Can I go too? I could be of great help!” Lee Ten expressed from his side of the table

The princess shook her head. “No. We do not know how the advisors are, so let me be sure that it’s a safe space for you. Just hang around with Sokka or Aang for the day.”

“Yes mother, but I really hope that I can join you to the meetings soon.”

“Let’s just see how this one goes.” Azula replied, ending the conversation then and there. 

The Fire Lord stood up from his seat, and as of custom and respect, the rest of the guest also rose with him. He made his way outside of the dining room, with the Fire Lady, Prince Iroh and Princess Azula following suit. The rest of the people also left the room, but at a much slower and relaxed pace. 

The meeting was not held in the throne room or in the war chamber, where they used to take place back when Ozai and Azulon reigned over the Fire Nation. Instead they took place at a room with a long table and a mini throne for the Fire Lord. It looked almost identical to the war chamber, yet it didn’t hold the grand fire in front of the throne. It was made to seem like Zuko was a more approachable Fire Lord. 

When Azula entered the room, she felt the gaze of every advisor shift towards her. They bowed down to her brother, but their minds were clearly on someone else inside the room. The princess considered sitting down on the ground, but then remembered that she had status in the palace. Nobody would expect her to actually sit on the dirty floor like some peasant, even if she had done so when she lived in the rural town. 

She spotted an empty seat near the head of the table and sat on it, disregarding the looks the advisors threw at her. It was clear that the advisors were not comfortable with her presence at the meeting, but Azula couldn’t find it in her heart to care. These people were the ones responsible for the Fire Nation economic downfall, which caused the major societal problems she experienced back in Ido. The ministers were not young, but they were inexperienced and naïve, just like her brother Zuko. 

“This meeting is now in order.” Zuko declared, his voice vibrating through the walls of the chamber. It was truly amazing how the voice of such a feeble man could sound so intimidating. “Please state your reports.”

One by one, each advisor gave their reports on their own specific fields. There was an advisor for education, an advisor for foreign affairs, an advisor for economy, so on and so forth with every ministry in the Fire Nation. It took all of her will for Azula not to interrupt the advisors and their reports. For each department, there seemed to be incorrect data, either by it being incomplete or just being completely false. What little data they seemed to have correct, their advice wasn’t what was best for the nation. In fact, these advisors seemed to be the worst team ever put together. But what could she expect from her brother?

Once all the advisors expressed their reports, Zuko looked at his sister and made eye contact. Azula’s face was unreadable. He couldn’t tell if she was mad, if she was ashamed, but it was clear as day that she wasn’t happy with the reports. 

“As you may see, we have been graced with the presence of Princess Azula. She will be joining us from now on in our meetings and will help us bring the Fire Nation to its former glory.” Zuko announced

The advisors all looked at each other in apprehension with the news. Azula narrowed her eyes but maintained her straight composure.

“Forgive me Fire Lord Zuko,” the advisor of foreign affairs began to say, “I do not mean to question your leadership in any shape or form, but I do have doubts about the mentality Princess Azula will bring to your government. I fear that under her influence, our peace with the other nations will be disrupted.”

“I take your concern into consideration but know that Princess Azula only has the good of the Fire nation and its people in her mind. If by any instance her priorities change, I will be the first one to make sure she is punished. However, I’m sure this will not be a problem. Now, Azula, do you have anything to say after listening to the reports?” 

Azula nodded, making eye contact with each of the advisors and intimidating them with only a look. 

“Yes, I do have quite a few things to say.” Azula smiled, taking in the aura of superiority she felt in her position. It had been far too long since she had felt like that. “It was my understanding that lying to the Fire Lord was punishable by death, but it seems that you all are living your best lives, sitting here in my presence and unpunished.”

“What?!” the advisor of justice exclaimed, voicing the outrage of all the other advisors. “How dare you call us liars in front of the Fire Lord! We are nothing but loyal to Fire Lord Zuko.”

The princess passed her fingers through her signature bangs, making her eyes ever more visible. “Each and every one of you has lied to the Fire Lord in this meeting at least once. For example, it is not true that the southeast part of the Fire Nation has had fewer fire-flu deaths this past month. Not all patients with fire-flu experience the same symptoms, but the sheet doctors have to fill out, which has been given by our government, only has some exact symptoms. If a patient doesn’t reflect all of the conditions, or if it has new ones, it cannot legally be considered fire-flu, and therefore the death does not add up to the total tally. That is just one example of the mediocrity that is this government.”

“Impossible. Our forms have been effective for over ten years and no doctors have sent any complains.” The advisor of health said. 

“That’s another lie. I personally sent quite a few complaints, but there were never any improvements.”

“I can assure you, Princess Azula, that there was never any complaint under your name.”

Azula smirked. “So you admit that there were complaints, just not under my name.”

The advisor opened his mouth to retort but closed it soon after finding no words to defend himself with. 

“Azula, what do you think would be the best course of action to improve our nation?” Zuko asked his sister, quite curious about what was going on in his sister’s mind. He was certain that this was no longer the power-hungry sadistic teenager he knew back in his childhood, and he knew that she had lived as a peasant for fifteen years. But this did not mean that her methods were going to be the most innocent ones. They could be effective, but the way they were executed could become a problem further on. 

“After living outside of the palace and Caldera for fifteen years, I can say with confidence that there is a plethora of issues in the Fire Nation, both economically and socially. These problems will not be solved in one day, but it is our duty to make sure that from now on, our nation reaches the prosperity it once had. I think that the economy is the issue that should be tackled first. The unemployment rate is almost at 40% outside of the Caldera, and 70% in rural areas. Many industries have closed down because they no longer have customers, and with the high tax rates the government impose on the citizens, many of our own people are dying of hunger. It is hard to improve the economy, but I think we should start by revoking the reparations.” Azula explained with authority

The advisor of foreign affairs’ face turned red. “How can we stop paying reparations when our nation has been the one who made the world suffer for 100 years? If we do that, it would seem as if we no longer seek peace between the four nations.”

“While I understand your concern, we cannot put foreign nations before our own people.” Azula said. “By paying the other nations reparations, we have admitted that we were wrong in our quest of world domination. It was a good idea, but now, almost twenty years after the end of the war, it makes the Fire Nation look weak. The other nations have a steady source of income because of our past, while our people die as they repent for the actions of their parents and grandparents. Our children die of hunger just so an earth kingdom citizen can buy a home decoration. 

We should not live in an endless world of shame. Yes, we must accept our past, but we must also move on. By paying these reparations, we are taking money away from the people, most of whom become desperate and search for a way to better their lives. This is where many of the revolutionary groups come from. They promise people a better government, who will not bow down to any other nation and who would make the Fire Nation a livable place once again. If we cease the payment, it will make money stay within our economy, so our people will be able to purchase things once again. With an active economy, it will be easier to tackle many of our other problems.”

“What if the other nations take this the wrong way? What if confrontation comes from this?” the advisor of Armed Forces asked

Azula made eye contact with the advisor, who shrunk in his seat. “Must I remind you that the Fire Nation didn’t lose the war? We simply withdrew from it, but our militia still proved to be stronger than that of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. The other nations will be all talk, but when the time comes, they will all be afraid of an actual confrontation. Besides, the avatar will agree with us. He saw how underdeveloped the Fire Nation really is now.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” Zuko said from his throne. “I cannot allow my people to suffer just for the benefit of our image. From now on, the Fire Nation will stop paying reparations.”

“You should also re-legalize alcohol.” Azula said nonchalantly. 

“For what purpose?” the advisor of interior asked. 

Azula rolled her eyes. “For consumption. What other reason would there be? Who even came up with that awful idea?”

“I did,” Mai said from her seat besides Zuko. “alcohol has been a great evil in our nation and has been accountable for many misdeeds.”

Azula laughed. “Oh Mai, I didn’t know you could joke.”

“Alcohol makes people unproductive and violent. Many people all around the world become addicted to alcoholic substances, so to prevent this, we made it illegal.” Mai explained

“After watching that people did unwanted stuff under the influence, which ruined lives, we thought this was the best course of action.” Fire Lord Zuko said.

It didn’t take a genius to guess that Zuko was talking about the princess. Azula wouldn’t put it past Mai to pass such law merely because of her drunken mishap. She understood that alcohol had ruined many lives, but it seemed extremely unprofessional for a Fire Lord to make such an important decision just because his wife’s friend got cheated on because of one drunken night. 

“Just because something is prohibited, it doesn’t mean that people won’t do it. Just look at domestic violence. While you both had good intentions, the reality is that the decision to make alcohol illegal just worsened the problem. Clandestine businesses grew exponentially when alcohol was declared illegal, and alcoholism rates also rose. If something is legal, you can put restrictions on its consumption and its distribution. You can also apply taxes, which helps with the economy. 

When it’s illegal, like it is now, people who have access to it either use it to gain too much profit, or they consume it irresponsibly. Because it is an underground business, it also creates a problem of violence between leaders, which is reflected badly on the quality of life of our citizens. Taking all of this into consideration, I think that it would be crucial to make alcohol legal once again.”

The advisor of Public Action raised his hand. “If we make alcohol illegal, wouldn’t that create a boom of consumption?”

“For a short while, but it would not have a long-term negative consequence. Think of it as if the people were your child. If you tell your kid that he can’t do something, like go to a party for example, the child will have a temptation to rebel. If he does, he will try to make the most out of the situation, which is where problems arise. If you are a lenient parent however and tell him that he can go but with certain restrictions, the child is most likely to obey you. Same with this legalization. Alcohol will be legal, but there will be certain restrictions that citizens are likely to abide to because they don’t have a reason not to. There will always be a sector of the population who does not follow the rules, but we cannot base our laws on a small percentage.”

The advisors all nodded their heads, having understood the princess’ logic. 

Fire Lord Zuko also nodded, resting his chin against his hand. 

“Princess Azula makes a very compelling argument. I think that it would be a good decision to implement her ideas as soon as possible.” Prince Iroh said, speaking for the first time in the meeting. Azula’s eyes widened. Her uncle had never shown any kind of praise or appreciation towards her ideas before, no matter how good they had been. Maybe he thought she had changed, or maybe he just wanted him on her good side, so he could use her later on. She never knew what kind of games her family was playing. 

“Yes, that shall also be put into law. Azula, do you have any other concerns?”

The prodigy looked at her brother and slightly shook her head. “Not as of now. First, we must see how this works out, so we can keep modifying laws according to the reaction of the people.”

“Very well,” Zuko stood, everyone in the room following suit. “This meeting is adjourned. Bring accurate reports next time, or I won’t hesitate to punish you for dishonesty against the Fire Lord.”

The advisors bowed down as Zuko left the room. Azula took this as her queue and exited next, making her way towards the garden. She had no idea where Ty Lee currently was, so they could finally drink that pending tea, but she would rather not talk and ask Mai. 

The princess decided that it would be a good idea to walk at the gardens, where she used to play as a child. It was one place where the acrobat would likely be at, and if she wasn’t, then it was still a pleasant place to be. Her mind was still slightly overwhelmed by the meeting. It had been relatively short compared to the ones she participated in back when she was her father’s right hand, but that had been so long ago. It would take some time to get used to the meetings and politics. 

As she walked through the garden, she came across a smell. It was a smell of sweat, yet it was different from other sweat. Her mind quickly ran back towards the memory of waking up on an empty hotel bed. It wasn’t the exact same smell, there was something missing, but that smell was clearly there. 

Azula furrowed her eyebrows, trying to find where exactly the smell originated from. All her thoughts were focused on the smell. The memories came crawling back, as she walked beside the turtleduck pond, her mind was still reminded of that night. The image of Ty Lee bawling her eyes out, of Ty Lee pushing her aside, of her mother basically banishing her from her life, of a disappointed Zuko, of the hardships she went through because of one night.

Her nose led her to a clearing in the garden, where her son, the avatar, and the Water Tribesman all trained. The avatar seemed to be laughing at something Lee Ten had done, while the blue-eyed man was patting her son’s back. Azula noticed that her son was holding a boomerang and that the Water Tribesman was now lacking a boomerang. 

The way the man had behaved around her, and her son had been unnerving at first. Azula didn’t know if he was genuine or not, and if he was, why was he showing so much care towards a boy he had never met before. He gave the excuse of them both being “Water Tribe” even though Lee Ten made it obvious that he did not feel Water Tribe. 

There were certain mannerisms that made Azula question the real intentions behind Sokka’s actions. As time passed, he seemed more and more genuine in his will to help her child, but the reason was never clear. 

Watching them side by side, Azula could notice certain key similarities between her son and the Water Tribesman. The hair was the exact same color, and the eye region seemed almost identical. Although lee Ten still had much left to grow, the body type was clearly almost identical to that of the blue-eyed man. The humor was also somewhat similar, if Azula remembered correctly. Her son seemed to have a little bit more of an edge, but there was a similarity with the Water Tribesman. 

The smell, the similarities, and the way Sokka had been acting with Lee Ten. The evidence seemed to stack up as time passed by. The answer couldn’t be that simple, yet it was. Azula narrowed her eyes as her mind drew a conclusion, one which would change the perspective Zuko and everyone else had of the Water Tribe war hero.


	8. Life of an acrobat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ty Lee's life after the princess left. A secret is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, not the best chapter, but there were some things I wanted to say about Ty Lee and I didn't know how to put it in the story, so here it is. 
> 
> I'll talk to my psychiatrist tomorrow, so maybe my writing will get better and more consistent! I don't promise anything though, but let's see. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It took me like a week and a half to write, I don't know why because it's really not that long.

There comes a time in life when a person wants to take it a little easier; settle down. Even a person like Ty Lee, who had at one point run off to the circus to find excitement in her life, thought that she should ease on that excitement. For the acrobat, this decision had started after her breakup with Princess Azula. It had been a sort of domino effect: the breakup had been the catalyst which started the chain. 

With her broken heart, Ty Lee found it extremely difficult to focus on her duty as a Kyoshi Warrior. She did her part, but everyone around her could notice that even if the body was there, the woman behind it was not present. The signature bubbly personality that once identified the acrobat as herself was suddenly replaced with a sulky woman who tried too hard to seem happy. It was extremely hard for Suki to give orders to the acrobat, and even harder for the Kyoshi Warriors to try and include Ty Lee in their activities. It didn’t help that she had been having troubles with Azula because of her position in the Kyoshi Warriors. Everything added up, and just under a year later, Ty Lee quit the Kyoshi Warriors.

After quitting her job, Ty Lee moved in with her parents at their estate. Her family on her father’s side had been noble since before Sozin’s time, and thus had great influence in Fire Nation politics and were also extremely wealthy. Even with her six identical sisters, Ty Lee had no need for a job from a monetary standpoint. And so, wanting to take some time to herself, the acrobat moved to her old room. 

Peace in the household was never an option. With six identical sisters came six different kinds of problems and jealous streaks. Six identical sisters also meant competition for the affection of two parents. 

This affection came in the form of marriages. The first to get offered a marriage proposal had been Ty Liu due to her aptitude with the harp. Just three months after Ty Lee had moved back in with her family, one of her sisters moved away to start a new one. One by one, her sisters started marrying young high-class men and started having families with them. Their mother had tried to promote Ty Lee for young men to marry, saying she had been the ‘princess consort’ and that she had ‘personal connections with the Royal Family’, but every time a man tried to get her hand in marriage, the acrobat would screw it up. Maybe it had been unconsciously, but it didn’t change the result. 

It didn’t matter at first, but after four years of nothingness, the people of the high class began to talk about Ty Lee. They said that she was not right in the brain, that the princess had broken her upon repair, that she never wanted to marry just so she could sleep around…all of those things eventually reached Ty Lee’s ears. As her reputation ruined and her sisters began to have children, Ty Lee’s mental health started to deteriorate. What had once been a way to run away from the problems had become a problem itself. 

Once her sister Ty Woo had her fifth child in under four years, Ty Lee decided to move away from her family. She took what little money she had and bid farewell to her parents before moving away permanently. The acrobat still wanted to live in Caldera, so she used her money to rent a small studio apartment in a very centralized location in the city. At first, she worked at a small restaurant, washing dishes and occasionally waiting tables. It was a good environment. Her boss paid her a good salary, her coworkers were people from Caldera, and overall, Ty Lee loved working at the establishment. 

But then Caldera started to get full of people from all over the Fire Nation; people who needed whatever jobs they could find in order to feed their families. The change wasn’t from one day to another, but over the course of the years, Ty Lee’s life at Caldera had changed dramatically. She soon got laid off after many immigrants offered to do her job at half the salary she was making, and the area where she lived at began to show many acts of crimes. Living as she did was no longer plausible, and so she decided to take life into her own hands. 

After spending time as a teenager at the circus, Ty Lee understood that the kind of lifestyle it offered was not one she wanted to pursue in her late 20s. In a bold and rash decision, the acrobat decided to open up a small dojo where she could teach women to defend themselves. With the money she had saved over the years, Ty Lee bought a small house which she turned into a studio and her home. Not many people went to her at first, mostly due to them having no spare time in between jobs and rest, but over time, a number of women began to attend her institute. 

Girls ranging from 4 years old all the way to women of the third age started taking classes with the acrobat. She taught them how to chi-block as well as self-defense against potential male attackers. Her dojo began to gain recognition, and suddenly many more women tried to take classes with Ty Lee. Overwhelmed by the number of students, the acrobat hired two assistants, both of whom were nonbenders and had previously trained with the Army. 

Ty Lee had been alone for a long time, and spending time with her assistants had woken up a spark that she though had been lost forever. Bin, one of her assistants, was especially crucial in the awakening of her feelings. The assistant was a little bit taller than Ty Lee and was extremely sweet with their clients. The little girls loved Bin, and the older women all wanted to take classes with her. With time, the acrobat began developing feelings towards her employee, and one fateful day, she acted upon those feelings. 

They dated for a while. Everyone could see how happy Bin was when she was around the acrobat, and Ty Lee’s mood seemed to better with her partner. Ty Lee liked Bin, she really did, but that like never developed into anything more. Bin loved Ty Lee, and one day asked the acrobat for her hand in marriage. Ty Lee refused. 

Nobody except Ty Lee knew the reason for the rejection. From an outside look, the couple seemed to be completely perfect. They never fought, they liked the same things, they had similar personalities, and they even had the same food taste. It was a match made by Agni himself. Ty Lee was the only one who knew why she had rejected her girlfriend’s proposal. 

Truth of the matter was that no matter how hard she tried, the princess would always be the one in her heart.

“True love is only the first one. The rest are there to forget the first love.” Ty Lee said to herself at night in her solitude. She tried to forget Azula, but it was impossible. The princess had been just too special for Ty Lee to just be able to move on from. The way they flowed together as nobody had done before or since was just perfect, like Azula. It had hurt that the prodigy cheated on her, but she did apologize and never hid the truth. She had accepted her wrongdoings and her faith, and in return she was outcasted. 

Ty Lee felt slightly guilty. She didn’t have a civil conversation with Azula where they could just talk about what had happened. It wasn’t so Azula could try to explain herself, but they never even talked about how they would move from there. It just ended abruptly without any kind of closure. And Ty Lee knew that closure would never come. 

She wanted to reunite with the princess one day, but that was just wishful thinking. It had been several years since Azula left Caldera, and since then there had been no sightings of the princess. If Azula was alive, then she didn’t want to be found. Whenever, wherever, Azula would die exiled from her home. 

At least that was what Ty Lee believed up until one fateful letter from her friend Suki. The letter had come from a place called Ido, which Ty Lee assumed was in the Fire Nation. At first glance, the letter seemed to be too formal and straightforward for a friend to greet another. That was when the acrobat remembered the codes she had used during the war. 

Found Azula in Ido. Tell Zuko she has a spawn. Suki had found Azula. 

Found Azula in Ido. Tell Zuko she has a spawn. Azula had a child. 

Found Azula in Ido. Tell Zuko she has a spawn. Azula had moved on.

Ty Lee read the hidden message dozens of times and each it hurt more than the last, but she couldn’t stop. The woman she loved had without a doubt, moved on from her. She was probably living with a spouse, probably male, who could’ve given her a child. The acrobat knew that Azula was not one who would have a child out of wedlock. 

Her first communication with the palace since she had moved out had been this. She had sent a letter to Mai personally congratulating her with the birth of a princess, but she never received a response. The reason for this was unknown, and Ty Lee didn’t dwell too much on the fact. She gave the message to Zuko, who then relayed it to the Avatar and some of his friends. Ty Lee was given a room to stay in the palace, and she took this opportunity to talk to Mai as she hadn’t done for years. In a short amount of time, the Avatar, Sokka from the Water Tribe, Zuko and her were ready to head towards to the small town where Suki had told them Azula was located. 

Upon their arrival, Ty Lee could see the bad state the town was at. If she thought Caldera was bad, the small town of Ido would have no comparing. There were cattle everywhere, and it smelled worse than the circus did. It was difficult to imagine Azula living in this kind of environment, yet the letter explicitly said that this was the location. 

A teenager was at the middle of the town square playing some music. The music sounded somber, full of regret and misery. The kid seemed to convey his emotions very well through his instrument in a way Ty Lee had never seen before. From afar he seemed like a good kid. 

Then he opened his mouth. It turned out the kid was probably the most disrespectful kid in the Fire Nation. Not that Ty Lee was a psycho when it came respect, but she knew that if the kid talked that way to Ozai or any of his predecessors, a public execution would’ve been the least of his worries. 

Suki appeared from the crowd, and soon Azula followed. The princess had aged from the last Ty Lee had seen her. There were some kind wrinkles around her eyes and in the center of her eyebrows, but she still maintained the beauty only she knew how to achieve. Upon seeing her, Ty Lee forgot how to breathe for a quick second. She was taken back to when Azula and her were happy. All those memories, both good and bad, came running back. 

It was then revealed that the disrespectful kid, Lee Ten, was her child. She tried to ignore the fact that his name was clearly an omen to Lu Ten and her. However, she could not ignore the fact that the child was mixed. Ty Lee had nothing against other ethnicities, but she knew Azula did. Maybe she didn’t outright hate them, but she did believe them to be inferior. But now she had a child with a Water Tribe. 

It was a cruel joke. Even a Water Tribe savage was better than you. She could hear Azula telling her this every time she looked at Lee Ten. It wasn’t fair to the kid, he hadn’t decided who his parents were, but her heart still played tricks on her. 

The ride back to the palace was awkward and as uneventful a journey could be when the Avatar was flying. Lee Ten turned out to be weak hearted, ironic considering Azula’s obsession with perfection. That didn’t stop the kid from telling Zuko off at every instance however, and it was revealed the deep resentment he held towards the Capital City. As she heard their reasoning, it was easy to see where this resentment stemmed from. 

When Zuko decided that Azula was not to be arrested, Ty Lee felt relief. If Azula was at the palace, then maybe they could talk again. If they talked, maybe they could be friends as they once were. And once they were friends, maybe, just maybe, they could get together again. It still hurt that Azula had cheated on her, but it hurt more being apart from her. She could say that she tried to move on by dating Bin, but it was clear that she had always belonged and will always belong to Azula. 

Sitting in the palace while Azula, Zuko, and Mai were at a meeting was very boring. She wanted to share tea with Azula after the meeting, but in the meantime, she was confined to the palace walls. The palace under Zuko’s leadership was exponentially more welcoming than it had been in her childhood. The servants didn’t look terrified of their masters, and although it still remained the epitome of wealth in the Fire Nation, it still wasn’t as excessive as it had once been. 

After hours of wandering around, Ty Lee finally found Mai walking to the nursery. 

“Mai!” she greeted her friend. The Fire Lady looked up and slightly smiled. Time had done good to the knife thrower; she showed much more emotions now, although not as much as Ty Lee would like. 

“Ty Lee, what have you been doing in the palace all this time?”

“Umm, nothing really. I was waiting for the meeting to end so I could talk to Azula. Speaking of, do you have any idea where she might be?” 

Mai sighed in disappointment. “Why do you want to talk to her? She hurt you, and even if she seemed renewed now, you should be able to look over her façade.”

“It’s not a façade,” Ty Lee shook her head. “she really has changed. You didn’t see her on the way here.”

“But I just saw her in the meeting. She is still the same old calculating Azula, and it’s clear that she wants to put Zuko’s reign in danged by becoming hostile towards the other nations.” Mai explained. 

“I think she just wants what’s best for the Fire Nation”

Mai sighed. “Whatever. I don’t have time to argue with you about this when you’re clearly blinded with whatever infatuation you have with her. I’m going to go see Izumi.”

“Oh! Are you finally going to breastfeed her?” Ty Lee asked excitedly

Mai made a disgusted face. “No, that is beneath me. I’m just going to play with her.”

“You know,” Ty Lee began to rub her left elbow. “I have heard that breastfeeding is good for the bond. A lot of the women back in the studio told me that.”

“I don’t trust anything that comes out of Azula’s mouth, and you shouldn’t either. Whether or not the women at your facility believed such things is irrelevant. The fact that Azula said so is enough to make in incredible.”

The acrobat narrowed her eyes. “Your mind is full of hate. Give her a chance and maybe it might be good for you. For us.”

Mai scoffed. “She has had enough chances. I’m through giving them to her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to the Crown Princess.”

Mai walked past her friend and entered the nursery where Izumi was playing with one of the servants. Ty Lee watched as her friend walked, a frown plastered on her face. She knew that the friendship they once shared was impossible to recover. This was mostly because of the fact that Azula had been manipulative, aggressive, cruel, entitled, hot headed, and selfish, and thus could not form meaningful relationships with people. But she wasn’t like that anymore, so they could become friends once again. If only Mai wasn’t as stubborn as she was, they could maybe mend their friendship. 

Without the help of Mai, Ty Lee continued her way to find the prodigious firebender and finally have that tea. She walked to the gardens but only the Avatar and Lee Ten were there. The acrobat stopped as she saw the two figures. The Avatar was using airbending against Azula’s son, laughing as he did so, while Lee Ten was focused on beating the Avatar in their spar. 

It reminded her of the friendly spars she used to have with Azula. Ty Lee always bore a smile on her face while the princess was focused on the training aspect of the spar. She took a look at her surroundings and noticed that the gardens were the only place that stayed exactly the same. She walked along the garden trail Azula used to walk along with her. Every step she took reminded Ty Lee of just how they used to be. 

It was impossible to forget Azula, simply because there was always something there to remind her. The fountain where they used to do cartwheels and tease Mai and Zuko. She couldn’t help recalling that the fountain was the same place where she gave the princess the first kiss on the cheek, when they were merely seven years old. How could she forget her, move on, if there was always something there to remind her of the beautiful times she had with Azula?

The palace gardens where the place where Ty Lee fantasized about when she thought about her wedding. When she was little, and same-sex marriages illegal, she thought of a private ceremony with just Azula and her. Imaginary bells would ring, and they would just kiss under the moonlight so that Agni couldn’t see them. Ty Lee had always thought about that day. It was as if she was born simply to love Azula, to please her. She would never be free, and the princess would always be a part of her. 

Ty Lee walked out of the gardens and towards the palace quarters. She wanted to take a quick nap before eating dinner There was nothing wrong with that. 

As she made her way to her chamber, she heard two voices coming from a room. The voices were hushed, and it was impossible to tell what they were saying, but Ty Lee knew exactly who the owners of the voices were: Sokka and Azula. The acrobat was tired, but curiosity was more important than rest. 

Using her stealth training, Ty Lee entered the big room without being seen. The two figures were standing at a corner of the room, so the ex-Kyoshi warrior hid behind some furniture and listened closely to the conversation. 

“-pull some strings, and then he’ll have the passport.” Sokka said. Ty Lee couldn’t catch what they had said before to get to this point in the conversation.

“You still need to prove paternity with more than a look. We do not have the technology to test it with mere blood, but there must be some way to prove his heritage.” Azula replied

“Like I said, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you.” Azula said. “I’m curious, how is the economy in the Southern Water Tribe? Last I heard they had found some natural resources which are now used in boats? Please tell me more about it. And don’t spare any details on the machinery.”

Sokka, who was facing Ty Lee, smiled. “Oh, where to start! Yes, we found some oil reserves in the waters surrounding our tribes. We had a bit of a quarrel with the Earth Kingdom due to some islands they had nearby. They said that the oil belonged to them because of the island location. However, thanks to the Shu Dao Treaty of 293 BG, we could prove that because the distance of the furthest glacier found at the sea compared to the distance between the center of-”

Ty Lee got bored with the conversation and zoned out. She had thought that Azula and Sokka were going to say interesting things, not about history and economy. Why did they need to go to a private room to talk about such boring stuff?

With the same stealth she used to infiltrate the room, Ty Lee left it and headed to her own room. It was a quick stride, and soon enough, she laid down on her bed. Her mind was racing with images of her and Azula’s relationship, from as early as childhood to as late as their breakup. She tried to get the images out of her mind, but she couldn’t. Ty Lee fell asleep with the images of the princess playing on her mind. 

On the other room, Azula felt the intruder get out of the room and raised her hand. Sokka stopped explaining the oil history and shot Azula a questioning look. 

“What?” Sokka asked. “Where did you get lost? Was it when I explained how pistons work? Or was it-?”

“You can stop explaining that thing, the intruder is gone.”

Sokka’s eyes widened. “Intruder?! Someone was listening to us?”

Azula nodded. “Yes, but they didn’t hear much. Now, we can talk about what I really wanted to talk about.”

“What do you mean? I was the one who asked to talk to you.”

“I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t want to talk to you too. I have to prioritize my time, not spend it with a useless water savage.”

The brown-haired man rolled his eyes. “Gee thanks. So, what did you want to talk about?”

Azula’s neutral look turned murderous as she grabbed Sokka by the collar and pushed him against the wall. She was much shorter in stature than him, but her physical strength was one of a man twice her size. Her eyes glared directly into his and he could feel the heat from her hands threatening to burn his shirt. Sokka tried to push her off but she wouldn’t budge. 

“C-ca-can’t b-breathe.” he wheezed 

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What-what are you talking about?”

Azula’s hands turned even hotter and Sokka whimpered under the heat. “Don’t act all innocent. You’ve known all along that Lee Ten is your son, but you haven’t said anything. Not that day, not when you saw him, not when we arrived. You’ve acted all nice towards him because he’s your son, but you haven’t been there for him. I was the one who healed him every time he got hurt, I was the one who raised him, and I was alone when I had to give birth to him. Where the fuck have you been? Fathering other children?!”

Sokka’s face paled and he began to sweat like a waterfall. He shook his head desperately. “N-n-n-no. I haven’t done that. I swear! It’s not what it seems.”

“Really? Because it seems like you took advantage of my drunken state, left me to take all the fall, didn’t speak up when I was basically banished from my home, and now pretends to be a father figure to the son he abandoned all his life.”

“…Okay it’s very similar to what it seems. But please let me explain!” Sokka pleaded

Azula released Sokka’s collar and stepped back. The Water Tribesman coughed and reclined his back on the wall to support his weak body. 

“You can’t expect to suddenly become best father of the year when you haven’t been in his life. It’s not fair to Lee Ten. He always wanted a father figure, but a father shouldn’t be a temporary job. Just like a mother, a father should be there on the ups and the downs and should love the child unconditionally. You can say whatever you want, but your actions speak for themselves. You abandoned me, and even if you didn’t know, you abandoned him.”

“I know I was an asshole, but please let me explain. I tried to find you a year after you left the palace. I wanted to find you because I felt so guilty about what happened, so I told Suki that I cheated on her, and began to search for you. But between my duties at my job and you being missing, it was impossible to find you. I fully regret what happened, for abandoning you and not sticking up for you, but I’m trying to make it up. Please give me a chance. Let Lee Ten have both of his parents, even if it’s late. I swear on Tui that I will do everything in my power to make it up. I’ll even take all the blame when everyone finds out.”

The princess looked at the man with her eyes narrowed. She sized him up and down, trying to find any lies in his speech. 

When she found none, Azula straightened her clothes and met Sokka’s eyes. 

“Very well. You may tell Lee Ten the truth when you feel comfortable, but I would prefer to do it as soon as possible.”

Sokka nodded. “Can we do it tonight? After dinner.”

“Yes. When do you want to tell the rest?”

“In three weeks. It’ll be the Anniversary of the End of the 100-year war, so everyone will be here.”

Azula grinned. “Shocking news for a horrible day. Very well, we shall do it then. And I’ll hold you to your oath.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, Princess.” Sokka said


	9. Sokka's truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Ten finds out the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. I moved into my college dorm last Wednesday and thought I would write a lot because I had a lot of time doing nothing, but it seems I can only write when I have a lot of things and need to procrastinate with something. So, again sorry. 
> 
> Hopefully this chapter will clear some things up. 
> 
> Hope you guys like it! Please leave a comment if you can!
> 
> And thanks for reading!!!!

Sokka could never forget the night he spent with Azula. Those hours of bliss were one of the best things that had ever happened in his life. They both were intoxicated, and one of the involved parties was not doing this out of secret feelings, but it was still magical. The Water Tribesman always liked how the princess looked, but that night, that physical attraction became so much more. 

He didn’t say anything at the time because he was a coward, a young coward. His reasoning had been that if Azula took the fall, then people would have pity on her once the full truth was discovered. He couldn’t look at her when she left the palace. The guilt was unbearable. 

Since the day he slept with Azula, Sokka could feel his feelings for Suki begin to diminish and being replaced by a certain firebender. Everytime he kissed the Kyoshi Warrior, Sokka could only thing of how meaningless it felt when compared to the kisses he exchanged with the princess. Every time they slept together was null for Sokka, as his body would always remind itself of the scent of the firebender. It didn’t matter what Suki did, Sokka could only think that Azula was better. 

It wasn’t only on the physical aspect. Every time Suki did a plan, Sokka would compare it to those done by Azula. When Suki tried to be intimidating, he could only think of how it paled in comparison with the princess neutral face. Even when she used her Kyoshi Warrior uniform, the Water Tribesman could only remember of when Azula had done the same to bring down Ba Sing Se. 

There was shame to say that it took him a full year to finally retell some of the truth to Suki, which subsequently resulted in their break-up. He didn’t tell her that the woman who he had cheated with had been the Princess, and thankfully Suki never suspected of her, but that didn’t make things much better. She didn’t talk to him for weeks, and once she did it was only because it was in a group conversation and would’ve been awkward if no words were exchanged. 

After the break-up, Sokka tried to look for Azula. He knew he had done a horrible thing by not backing her up when her family turned against her, especially considering her drunken state of the night. True, he had also been drunk, but at least he remembered. The memories of her skin against his skin still remained lingering on his mind, giving him comfort when he needed. Azula had nothing. She was alone in Tui-knows-where in the world, all because he was too much of a coward to admit his wrongdoing. 

For years he asked around, trying to find any evidence of a blue-firebender passing through the nations, but nobody knew anything. It was as if she had disappeared as soon as she left Caldera, and there was no way of finding her. At first, everyone thought she was hiding and planning to overthrow the government or do something chaotic, but after years of no sight and no action taken, some people, like Mai, Katara, Toph, and even Zuko, believed Azula to be dead. 

But there were some that never believed this. Sokka was one of them. His mind simply couldn’t phantom the prodigious firebender dead in some corner of the world. It didn’t fit her character. Azula needed to die a legend, not as some random woman walking aimlessly in the world. 

He never once gave up on her, but as time passed by, Sokka couldn’t ignore his work any longer. And so, with much inner debacle, he stopped his search for the princess and began to fully focus on his work. He had been appointed as one of the representatives for the Southern Water Tribe in Republic City, which didn’t give him a lot of free time. What little free time he had was only used to rest. He didn’t go on a single date with any woman, even if many of the Republic City women threw themselves at him. 

Maybe it was guilt, or maybe it was the feeling of incompleteness he felt without a certain firebender. They had only spent one night together, but it meant so much to him. He had just been too stupid to not tell her that at the time, to not stand up with her, and so he was doomed to a life of misery. 

When a letter from Zuko arrived, stating that Suki had found Azula’s whereabouts, the councilman couldn’t deny the opportunity to see her once more. He took an indefinite leave at his work, appointing another person to act as his replacement, and headed to the Fire Nation. It had been fifteen years since he last saw Azula. Fifteen years since his greatest mistake: not standing up and taking her side. Sleeping with her hadn’t been a mistake, but what followed sure had been. 

The plan was simple. Meet Azula once again, talk to her alone quickly about what happened, tell her his feelings, hope she didn’t incinerate him on the spot, and live happily ever with her if she took him as her man. The probability of this was not high, it was in fact very low, especially considering that Ty Lee was also going to be present, but a man could always wish. He would pray to the moon, to Yue, for an opportunity to start a life with the princess. Sokka knew he didn’t deserve it and that it was selfish of him to ask her to live with him, but that was what he truly wanted. 

The plan took a different turn when he found out that Azula had a child. He assumed that the princess must’ve been married if she had a child. She probably married a man if she had a child. A man that could’ve been him if he had spoken up when he needed to. Sokka decided that he would tell Azula the truth when he met her again, simply for the sake of knowledge. He didn’t want her to give up her life simply to please him, but it was also her right to know the person responsible for her downfall. That it was him who ruined her life. 

The plan changed once again when the group arrived to Ido and found out that Azula had a fourteen-year-old son that was half Water Tribe. A son that looked like him. A son whose birth and conception perfectly aligned with the night he had spent with the princess. A son that, by all appearances, was also his. 

He was happy that he had a son. Lee Ten seemed like a good kid, even if a bit of a mouthful, and maybe he could form some sort of relationship with the kid. Even if he never married, he still had a son who could carry on his legacy. But, what legacy would that be? He had abandoned Azula when she most needed him, and that resulted in him never knowing his child. Lee Ten was Fire Nation, only Water Tribe by certain physical traits, but he was culturally fully Fire Nation. And when the kid talked, it was clear that he resented being part Water Tribe. 

Sokka knew that it was his duty as a father to be there for his son from then on. Even without telling Azula or any of the companions, the Water Tribesman took it upon himself to look after Lee Ten and his mother. He was a despicable human being, but maybe he didn’t need to be too despicable. If he added some acceptable actions, then maybe he could explain himself to Azula. Who knew, maybe somewhere in the future, they could be a family. 

And then Azula found out the truth before he could tell her. He was trying to find a good time to tell her the truth, a time when she wouldn’t kill him on the spot. But he underestimated the princess intellect. Not even two days at the palace and the princess had already found out his secret. Much to his surprise, she didn’t kill him on the spot. Maybe it was because she didn’t want any evidence of their encounter, or maybe she took pity on him. To be honest, he didn’t care what it was, he was only thankful that he was alive to tell his son the truth. 

The dinner that night started as good as it could considering all the tension certain members of the table held towards each other. Sokka sat beside his son, who was sitting beside Kiyi. In front of the Water Tribesman sat Suki and Ty Lee, the former glaring at Azula every chance she got while the latter ate her food without much appetite. 

“So, Azula, how did you find the meeting?” Aang asked, him being the first one to make conversation in the evening. 

Azula met the Avatar’s eyes and relaxed some unknown tension on her shoulders. “It’s good to know that Zuko is open to make necessary changes despite his or his wife’s feelings. However, I found the advisors to not reach the level of insight required to work at the courts. If I were Zuko, I would hire people that actually have experience working in the government.”

“The ones that have experience are the ones that have aided Ozai and Azulon.” Zuko interjected from his seat. 

Azula shrugged her shoulders. “That is still experience. Although they both did horrible things to the world, we have to admit that the Fire Nation was very stable under their command.”

“What he meant to say is that those advisors are still loyal to Ozai.” Mai said, glaring daggers at the princess. “We wouldn’t be able to tell when they were to betray the Fire Lord.”

“Excuses excuses.” Azula batted her hand around. “You can easily get rid of their loyalties to previous Fire Lords with one simply action.”

“And what’s that?” Mai asked

The princess grinned. “You can either threaten their whole families, or you can simply kill Ozai and make people fear you.” 

The prodigy sipped her drink as the rest of the table stared at her dumbfounded. The options the princess had just proposed were both horrifying and crazy…but they weren’t stupid. No; if they wanted to filter the loyal and useful people, they would need to step up their game. However, Zuko couldn’t go around threatening innocent people simply because he was the Fire Lord. It was his duty to protect them, and if he did what Azula proposed, he would be considered a tyrant.

“Azula! We will not threaten or kill anybody!” Zuko roared, outrage that his sister would even consider those options. 

“Fine, then keep your untrustworthy and nation-selling advisors who cause the death of thousands of people of your nation each year. I admit, my proposal is in the morally grey area, but I think that it’s a means to an end situation.” 

“I stripped Ozai from his bending so that we could avoid killing him. It’s unnecessary to threaten his life now, 20 years after the war ended.” Aang said from his seat

Azula rolled her eyes. “Right, and leaving him alive has not resulted in any type of rebellion. As long as he lives, there will be people loyal to him, and with the nation in the state that it is, these people will become more violent. It’s only a matter of time before someone breaks him out and he becomes the face of the revolution.”

“How can you of all people talk about killing father?” Zuko asked. 

“If a person abuses his family, wants to destroy the whole world, would threaten the nation which is already in a fragile, then I don’t think he should be able to live in this world.”

“But he’s your father.” Kiyi said

Azula scoffed. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s no longer my family. I bear no qualms with ending his life.”

“Could we go through one meal where we don’t reach a morbid topic or where we end up in a heated discussion and someone offended?” Sokka asked as he bit into some seal jerky. “Let’s try to have a normal discussion with a topic we can all agree on. Like, we all know that no matter our nation, we are all the same, right?”

The discussion quickly became an argument. Azula, Lee Ten, and surprisingly Mai took the side that they were in fact not the same, while the remaining took the side of inclusivity. 

“It’s simple biology. People from the Water Tribe can store more fat so they can survive longer on the cold weather. Their bodies are also made so they can process more omega 3 than the average person.” Azula explained for the fifth time. 

“That’s just an excuse you use so you can be racist! Although we have physical differences, we are all human!” Suki yelled

The son of Azula groaned as he rubbed his forehead. “Nobody doubted we are all human, but there are differences between people from different ethnicities which come from evolutionary traits.” He explained

“Plus, I’m not the same as some Earth Kingdom serf.” Mai sighed

“Hey! That had racist connotations!” Sokka exclaimed in shock. He knew that Mai was raised as high-born Fire Nation citizen in times when racism was rampant, but he didn’t think she would be so vocal about it. 

“Enough! Sokka, why did you propose this horrible topic?!” Zuko yelled. His head was throbbing in pain with the amount of people talking over each other. 

The Water Tribesman raised his hands in the air to affirm his innocence. “I thought we would all agree with that. How was I supposed to know that it would get so heated?”

“People tend to get defensive when it comes to personal identity and individuality. Next time, try not to bring a topic which crosses over that area.” Aang explained, trying to ease the situation. 

“Or you could just try to leave us with our actual important conversations. You know, the ones that may actually make the Fire Nation great again?” Azula proposed

“I feel very uneasy when you say it like that.” Kiyi confessed

“I’m not trying to bring back the war,” Azula rolled her eyes. “I just want the blatant racism to stop, for rebellions to dissipate, and for people to be proud of their nation once again.” 

“Right, like back when people were brainwashed with propaganda in their schools.” Zuko said as he rolled his eyes. 

Azula glared at her brother. “Be that as may be, we still had a good Nation. You took the responsibility of the Fire Lord, so it’s your duty to actually work to be a good leader. I’m here to help, but if you keep insisting that we did everything wrong back when Ozai, Azulon, or Sozin were Fire Lords, I’ll just go back to the village and continue my life there as a healer. All I want is to help my people as a princess should, but you seem to take everything so to heart that you screw our nation over. Yes, we did bad things, but not everything was bad. So stop with that guilt trip, stop apologizing or whinnying over the past, and start analyzing ways to do your job right. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m done for the evening.”

The prodigious princess stood up and silently left the room, the eyes of every guest following her. There was a silence that lingered at her absence, as some of the people, mostly Zuko and Iroh, who were the people her words struck the most. 

“This serves to prove that once an imperialist megalomaniac, always an imperialist megalomaniac.” Mai said, breaking the silence. 

“Oh shut up Mai.” Ty Lee said, glaring at the Fire Lady and best friend. “She never said anything that proved her to be a megalomaniac, or an imperialist.”

“By stating that she wants to bring back the old Fire Nation, she is implying that the nation was better off under imperialist rule.” Suki sided with Mai

Sokka cleared his throat before speaking. “That doesn’t mean that she wants the war again. By what she had told us and by what we have seen, the Fire Nation outside the capital city is in need of progress and proper ruling. Yes, when Ozai was Fire Lord, there were small towns and sectors of the Fire Nation which needed a good government figure, but there were also parts that prospered. Now, almost all of the nation is in ruin. I know I’m not from here, but I can sympathize with the people. I’m the first guy to say they hate Fire Lord Ozai and the 100-year War, but we must be able to see things from an outside perspective, from a cold and calculated angle.”

“What Sokka said is right.” Iroh announced. “My father and brother caused a lot of suffering in the world while they ruled the nation, but they also maintained good care of the Fire Nation. I am ashamed to admit that both Fire Lord Zuko and I have focused too much on maintaining peace with the other nations, that we have forgotten about our own.”

Zuko sighed. “Uncle is right. Today we took our first step forward for prosperity in the meeting, but it is only the start. We need to start acknowledging that Azula does have the Fire Nation’s people best interest at heart, and that she has a clever mind. She has lived as a nobody in the middle of nowhere, and thus knows fully the condition of our country. It was wrong of us to assume the worst when she said that she wanted to make the Fire Nation great again. Was the wording suspicious? Yes. But we need to trust my sister from now on. She’s a changed woman, and we need to give her the chance to help us.”

After the mini speech, the diners finished their food in silence and followed suit after Zuko left the table. Sokka stayed behind and grabbed Lee Ten by the arm, causing the teenager to furrow his eyebrows and shoot the Water Tribesman a dubious look. 

“I need to talk to you. It’s important, so come to my room while I search for your mother.”

“My mom? Why? I haven’t done anything.” Lee Ten said, shaking his arm off the councilman’s grip. 

Sokka sighed. “I know you haven’t, but we need to have a conversation. Please, go to my room and wait for your mother and I to arrive.”

“Okay... but if this is a trick of some sort, my mom will have your head on a stake.”

“I know buddy.” Sokka said, patting the teenager on his back, motioning for him to go. The half-breed started walking in the direction of Sokka’s room, while the elder turned his back and walked towards the princess quarters. 

He knocked on the door twice, announcing his arrival. “Azula, it’s me, Sokka.”

Not even ten seconds later, the large door opened, revealing a princess in more comfortable clothes. Her beauty was still intact however, as her eyes shone with the same fire they did when they first met. Her hair was in a high phoenix tail, while her signature bangs remained framing her pale face. Even though her physical attributes made her seem tall, Azula had stayed relatively short, yet that didn’t make her any less intimidating or beautiful. In fact, it seemed to add to her whole “look”. 

“Stop ogling and let’s get this over with.” Azula barked, breaking Sokka from his thoughts.

“I-I wasn’t-”

Azula stepped forward and closed her door. “Liars know how to detect a lie, so don’t even bother. Where is he?”

“Right this way.” Sokka motioned with his hand. The princess scoffed at him but followed his trail towards the bedroom. The way to the room was silent and full of tension. Once he opened his door, his whole world would change. There was no way to tell how his son might react to the news that, well, he was his father. A father who had abandoned his mother and who should be banished from the nation for his actions. 

Soon enough, the pair found themselves in front of the door of Sokka’s bedroom. They stopped just outside the bedroom and looked at each other. 

“So, this is it.” Sokka said

Azula rolled her eyes. “Yes, much later than it should’ve been.”

“Are you sure you want to do this now?”

“Of course I am. The question is, are you ready to finally become a parent? Once he knows, you cannot go back on your word. It will be your duty to provide for him and be a present father. If you ever let him down, if you ever do anything to hurt him or to make him upset, I don’t care if the Avatar is your family, I will find you and flay you alive. Am I understood?”

Sokka nodded his head. “Perfectly. Well then, let’s do this.”

The Water Tribesman opened the door to reveal Lee Ten sitting in a chair surrounded by papers. Bunches of papers were thrown all around the room, and some clothes was lying in the bed and floor. The princess face turned into one of disgust at the scene of the room of her son’s father. 

“Oh crap, I forgot to clean up before.” Sokka said as he entered the room and ran towards his clothes, grabbing them quickly and jamming them on the already-full drawers.

“Your haikus are mediocre by the way.” Lee Ten said, reading a piece of paper with writing on it. “It was so stupid, to resign and see you leave, with a piece of me.”

“Can you not read my stuff?” Sokka said, trying to grab the paper. 

Lee Ten dodged the councilman and kept reading other haikus. “Oh how much I wish, to one day say how I feel, underneath the sun. They couldn’t be cheesier even if you tried! Flaming hot and cold, no woman can reach to you, you are so perfect. Just like a phoenix, my love for you never dies, and it’s powerful Who are they about? It’s not Suki, I can tell that much.” 

“Lee Ten, stop reading those dumb haikus and pay attention to what we have to say.” Azula told sternly at her son. 

“Ugh, fine. What’s so important that made me have to be here.”

“Don’t have an attitude with me young man.” Azula glared down at her son.

Lee Ten made himself seem smaller and lowered his head. “Sorry mom.”

The princess sighed. “Lee Ten, we asked you to come here because there is some information you deserve to know. If I had known about it earlier, I would’ve told you so, because it is your fundamental right to know this.”

“What is it mom?”

Sokka approached to mother and son duo until he was right besides Azula. “Lee Ten, first, I want to say that I apologize from the bottom of my heart for not telling you earlier. I know it was selfish, and you have every right to hate me. I have let many people down, but most importantly, I let you and your mother down. I do not ask for forgiveness, but I do hope we can have a relationship that was deprived because of my actions.”

“…huh?” Lee Ten asked

“There is no easy way to say this and beating around the bush would be insulting to you.” Sokka sighed. His eyes met Lee Ten’s. “I gave you the boomerang my father gave me, the boomerang my grandfather gave my father, and which has been passed down for generations. I did this because you are my son Lee Ten.”

“…huh?” Lee Ten said with confusion visible in his eyes. 

“It’s true. Sokka is your father.” 

“Oh…well…ok.” Lee Ten said, looking straight at the Water Tribesman

Sokka furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged his neck. “That’s your reaction? We just told you I am your father and you just say ok?”

“I just don’t know what to feel. Every day I prayed to Agni that I would meet my father, and I’m ecstatic to finally know the truth. But you also abandoned my mother and lived with another woman while mom suffered. I don’t know if I can ever forgive you for that. When you first saw me, you must’ve known the truth, but you’re saying it now. Why? Were you embarrassed that I am your son? That your son is a filthy half-bred peasant from a filthy Fire Nation town? That your son is not physically capable of protecting himself, so you’d rather keep the truth to yourself?”

“No! Those thoughts have never crossed my mind!” Sokka squatted in front of the Lee Ten so he could be at his eye-level. “I couldn’t be prouder to call someone my son. I am so sorry for not telling you earlier, but I’m here now. I love you Lee Ten, please trust me on that. I swear to never leave your side and to give you anything you need. I was never ashamed of you, please believe that.”

“I-I need time to process everything.” The half-breed rose from the chair and headed out, walking to his room with tears in his eyes. 

Sokka dropped his head and sat on the floor, looking at his trembling hands. 

“That went better than I expected.” Azula said, crossing her arms as she approached the Water Tribesman

“It’s my fault. I should’ve told him earlier. I should’ve worked harder to find you and be an active part of his life.” Sokka replied, still maintaining his gaze low.

“Well yes, I suppose you’re right to some extent. But you couldn’t have known that he existed. As far as you knew, it was a one-night stand that ruined my life forever. That’s no reason to spend all your resources searching for an incomplete family.”

“It wasn’t only a one-night stand.” Sokka said, lifting his gaze to meet Azula’s golden eyes. “I was a stupid 20-year-old kid that did not know the consequences of his actions. I am guilty of not standing up for you when your family cast you aside. I am guilty of abandoning you in your time of need. I am also guilty of falling for you while in another relationship. That night awoke something in me. I searched for you, but I didn’t do it well enough. The guilt of leaving you ate me up, and all I wanted to do was hold you in my arms. Azula, I need you in my life. I am completely at fault for my bad decisions, and I regret them fully. My wish is for you to one day accept me and start a family together. Please Azula, I know I screwed up, and you don’t have to forgive me right now, but please ponder on this. I don’t care if I get fired from my job, I don’t care if I’m cast away from my family, as long as I’m with you.”

Azula stared at the man before her. The same man that had impregnated her and then left her fending by herself. Now that man sat on the floor, tears running down his cheeks as he confessed some feeling he thought were true. The princess could tell that he was not lying, but that did not mean much. How could she forgive someone that had resulted in her life being ruined? Not only that, but how could he honestly expect her to be with him after he abandoned her and her son. 

“When I was little, my mother used to tell Zuko stories about warriors fending against dragons to help a princess. I always overhead them and loved the stories as if mother were telling them to me. I never told anyone because father always wanted me to be fearless and able to fend for myself, but I secretly wanted to be one of the princesses in the stories. I wanted some warrior to come for me and beat the dragon keeping me imprisoned, then live with him happily ever after. I wanted someone that would fight against all odds to be with me, someone who would slay the biggest and most fearsome beasts just so it could hold me. As I grew older, I found myself with the cruel reality that nobody would come for me, that nobody would help me fend against the dragons. 

“The desire to be a princess in need of a warrior never died, however. Inside of that cruel princess fighting with Ozai was a little girl wanting true affection. You seem to be offering that right now. You want to be with me, and you claim to want me even if it screws your life over. But how can I be sure that will happen? When you had the opportunity to save me from the vultures, you abandoned me. You left the lone and vulnerable princess against the dragons. Now I know not to expect much from you, from anyone for that matter, but I can still have my standards. If I’m with someone, I want to be comfortable and sure that that someone will not betray my trust. You already have betrayed my trust, and you’re asking me to give you another chance. Why should I?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sokka said defeated. “You should not give me another chance, and that’s the truth. But I am still asking, and I will keep asking for as long as my heart leads me to you. I was a stupid kid, a stupid selfish kid that now bears the consequences of his actions. I don’t deserve you Azula, but I will still be forever grateful if you at least thought about it. We could be a family. You, me, and Lee Ten. Please, just think about it.”

The princess didn’t reply. She simply turned around and walked away from the room, leaving Sokka on the floor, silently crying. All he wanted was to be with the princess, but because he had been so stupid fifteen years ago, he now could not be happy. He wanted to be there for his son, he wanted to be there for Azula, because it was all his heart needed to beat. It was selfish, he knew that, but if being selfish could bring happiness to him, his son, and Azula, why shouldn’t he pursue it?


	10. It happened that night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula remembers what happened that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mediocre chapter alert!!!!!!!
> 
> So, this explains what really happened, but I did it in the worst way possible. I am not proud of it, and I'm sorry to make you guys read this. 
> 
> It features a real life song but with its lyrics changed (the song is Rasputin). Yes, it's that bad. Please don't hate me. Next chapter will be good I promise!
> 
> In one part you might have to imagine like the scene in Tangled when the people were singing in that weird restaurant, it's that type of vibe. But with a real life song because I had a cringe episode. 
> 
> Anyways, if any of you thinks Sokka took advantage of Azula after this chapter, then I have a lot to think about my own life...
> 
> Part of the idea for this chapter is remind you all that Azula is also to blame. She is a victim, but she's not innocent. She's Azula after all, so she's not a relatively good person.
> 
> Please don't stop reading after this chapter. I'm aware it's disappointing, so again, sorry. I promise to make it up to you guys.

A young woman sat in an almost empty cantina drinking Sorghum liquor. Any other day she would’ve stuck with plum wine, which was infinitely times classier than the strong liquor she was consuming, but at the moment, the woman just wanted to forget about the fight she had earlier that day.

“Didn’t think I’d find you here. And with a disguise no less.” A strong voice said at her side.

She slowly turned her head to find a Water Tribesman sitting beside her.

“Could I have sorghum on the rocks?” The man asked the bartender, who silently nodded and began to serve the liquor to the individual.

The woman turned her head back to look in front of her. “What are you doing here peasant?”

“Hey, my dad is Chief of the Tribe, so that makes me like a prince. I’m certainly no peasant.”

“What are you going here, oh wonderous prince of the Water Tribe?” the woman asked again

The man scoffed. “I’ll ignore your sarcasm for now. I guess I’m here for the same reason you are.”

“What, did you get in an argument with your girlfriend, which then escalated into the biggest fight of your life, and now want to drink until Agni himself comes to claim your soul?”

“Not exactly,” the man said as he thanked the bartender for his drink and took a sip. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“Since when are we close enough for me to tell you all about my intimate problems?”

The man shrugged his shoulders. “We’re not, but it’s always good to vent. If you don’t want to talk that’s fine, we could just enjoy alcohol together.”

The woman swirled her drink on the cup with her wrist.

“Very well. Let’s enjoy the drinks.”

The woman had always prided herself with being self-proclaimed alcohol resistant, but that night was different. Maybe it was because she hadn’t eaten much during the day, or maybe it was because of her emotional distress. Whichever the reason, it caused the woman to get lightheaded after her fifth cup of sorghum. When she looked at the Water Tribesman, she noticed that he had drunk twice the quantity she had.

“You should stop drinking.” The woman said, glancing at the empty cups in front of him.

The man waved his hand at her. “Nah, I’m fine. Once you’ve drunken Cactus Juice you’re immune to everything else. You’re the one who should stop drinking! You’ve had like-what-five glasses?”

“Six, which can be barely compared to your twelve drinks.”

“I’m like double your weight, so I can drink double the amount of alcohol you can.”

The woman turned to face the Water Tribesman completely. “You are not twice as big as I am.”

“Oh yes I am. Look, stand up.” He stood up and waited for her to do so as well. The woman stood up after a few seconds, feeling dizzy soon after. She stumbled a little and was caught by the man by the arms.

“Easy there.” He laughed

“I’m fine.”

“Sure you are. Anyways, see, you’re this short,” the man stepped close to the woman and put his hand on his shoulder. “which means that I have a lot of muscle more than you.”

The woman smiled. “You said that wrongly.”

“No I didn’t.” the man denied.

“Yes you did. It should’ve been ‘which means that I have more muscles mass than you’.”

The Water Tribesman smiled. “So you admit it then.”

The Fire Nation woman scowled. “Just because you have bigger muscles does not mean you can withhold more alcohol than I can.”

“That’s literally what it means! More muscles mean more weight, which correlates to alcohol tolerance.”

“No. You’re wrong. In fact, let’s make a bet. Whoever vomits or passes out last can ask the other one a favor. It has to be a reasonable favor, so no asking for anything sexual. That’s what our girlfriends are for.” The woman stretched her hand towards the foreigner.

The man took her hand and with a determined face, shook the hand of his adversary. “We have a deal.”

“In that case, come with me. There’s this place where we can get all the drinks we want for free if we get all the crowd to sing a song.” The woman pulled the man outside, leaving some golden coins on the counter of the bar.

The Fire Nation woman stumbled across the streets of the capital, nobody recognizing such a figure of standing. The Water Tribesman simply followed the woman to wherever she was to take him. He couldn’t understand where exactly it was or what exactly was the place, he was just weirded out that the princess looked so excited. She held a bright smile as she ran through the streets of Caldera.

Ten minutes later, the pair found themselves at another bar, but this one with people playing instruments. The people looked happy, with the musicians playing happily whichever song came to their mind and the clients enjoying the music.

“Botum’s place.” The Water Tribe man read.

The princess rolled her eyes. “I’m aware it’s a mediocre name. Just come in.”

She pulled him until they were in the cantina.

“Rina! I’m so happy you decided to visit.” The bartender greeted the woman. He was a middle-aged man with a thin moustache. He had tan skin and brown hair sprinkled with white, evidence of his aging.

“Good evening Botum. How are you?” the woman greeted with a smile

“Even better now that you’re here sweetheart. And who’s this man? He’s not from around here is he?” Botum asked, whipping a glass with a towel and pouring some liquor in.

The woman shook her head. “No, he’s from the Water Tribes. That’s not important right now.”

“Is it not? You always seemed set on always being with someone from the Fire Nation.”

“I have a bet going on with this oaf, but we don’t want to spend too much money.” The woman explained. “Botum, I’m here to take on The Challenge.”

The bartender’s eyes widened. “The Challenge? Are you sure you are able to do it?”

The woman shrugged her shoulders. “If I don’t, then I guess we’ll just have to pay the fee. But I’m certain I’ll be able to beat it.”

“If you say so. Let me announce it first.” The man walked from behind and went to stand in front of the musicians who had their own little makeshift wooden stage. Using a big cone, the bartender cleared his throat and spoke to all of his customers.

“We have someone who wished to take on The Challenge.” All the conversations stopped at the mention. The Water Tribesman looked uneasy at the severity this challenge seemed to imply. “The point of The Challenge is to make every single person inside of the establishment highly engage in the song sung by the challenger. That is the easy part. What the challenger also needs to do is make at least 50 outside people enter the establishment while the song is going on. If the challenger can do it, he or she will have free drinks for the night, as well as a person of his or her choice. If he is unable, however, the challenger must pay triple for the drinks, as well as pay the band for their performance. It sounds easy, but so far nobody has been able to achieve it. Now let’s all give a fiery welcome to Rina!”

“That’s the challenge? It sounds…not Fire Nation.” The Water Tribesman whispered to the woman.

“Don’t criticize. Just be happy I’m willing to go through this just so you don’t spend money.” She said, placing a hand on his chest before walking towards the stage.

“So, Rina, are you ready for The Challenge?” the bartender asked

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

“Perfect. Well then, good luck. And remember, have fun up there.”

The woman turned to the band and whispered something. The band members all smiled as they heard the song the woman proposed.

“This is the story about one of our greatest Fire Lords, and the song explains why. Some people know it back from schools, others remember it because of the Rough Rhinos. Now, everyone summon your inner patriot. And peasant,” the woman pointed at the Water Tribesman. “this will help you learn about the history of the greatest Nation.”

The person on the drums began to play a rapid rhythm while the woman clapped three times in consecutive intervals. Soon enough, the people inside the bar began to clap along with her. After that, a string instrument began to play a melody, which was then followed by another string instrument playing another melody. The Water Tribesman was confused by this and was also scared at how quickly the people reacted to the princess’s claps. It was as if they were brainwashed sheep.

_“There lived a certain man in the Nation long ago.”_ The princess sang.

_“He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow!”_ the customers sang/shouted.

The princess’ guest was genuinely surprised by the response. His eyes roamed around the room to see everyone’s faces, but it seemed to his surprise that everyone was happy with the song. Granted, it gave the vibe of a drunken bar song, but it was still too quick of a reaction.

_“Some people looked at him, with terror and with fear.”_ The princess grinned

_“But to his people he was such a lovely dear!”_ The chorus of people chanted.

_“He could preach the scrolls like a preacher, full of ecstasy and fire._

_But he also was the kind of leader, people would desire.”_ The princess sang.

The music played alone for a few seconds, in which the people stood up and began to chant ‘ _hey’s_ ’. From the corner of his eye, the Water Tribesman could already see people entering the bar. They were groups of people, not single individuals, which meant that the princess would soon reach the necessary goal of 50 people.

It was bizarre to see the people of the Fire Nation dancing. As far as he was concerned, the Fire Nation didn’t let people dance during the reign of Fire Lord Ozai, which probably meant that the previous Fire Lord also forbid it. However, all of these people seemed so invested in the song that they just danced. Some new instruments were added, and soon enough it sounded like a whole orchestra in the bar.

The princess began to sing her verses again, and the people chanted back as they did before. Everyone seemed so genuinely happy, and it gave him a smile. When he saw the princess like that, it made him truly happy to see her enjoying herself without the fear of people discovering who she was. Back in the palace, the princess acted extremely poised, and even when she looked content, there was an underlying constraint of emotion present in her body language.

_“Fa-Fa-Fire Lord, Ruler of our Great Nation,_

_Who gave us all of us great honor!_

_Fa-Fa-Fire Lord, everybody loved Sozin,_

_There was no shame how he carried on!”_ The princess sang together with the Fire Nation people of the bar.

The man’s smile vanished when he realized what the song was about. All of these people were happy because of a song about how great Sozin was. The same guy that committed the genocide against Aang’s people. The same guy who waged a war against the entire world, which cause the death of his mother.

_“He ruled the Fire lands, don’t mind the Avatar,_

_But the traitor then, he attacked the great Sozin._

_In all affairs of state he was the man to please,_

_But he was real great, he did all of it with ease._

_For the Lady he was no wheeler dealer,_

_Though she heard the things he’s done._

_She believed he was the holy leader,_

_Who would give her son.”_

It got worse. It was clearly all propaganda. And everyone ate it up. They all began to sing the chorus with fervor, and the Water Tribesman wondered if he was truly the only one perturbed by the song. He wanted to go up to the princess and tell her to stop with the madness, but then he saw her face. Her radiant smile stopped him from whatever he was going to say. It was clear that the princess was more than a little drunk, but it made her look good. Not that she didn’t before, the Water Tribesman had always noticed how beautiful the princess was, but she had a different glow at the moment.

He seemed to have zoned out for a moment because next thing he knew, the princess was in front of him. She pulled him to the stage and began to dance with him as the people cheered. She grabbed his elbow with her elbow and began to skip around him, making him move as well. He concluded that it must’ve been the alcohol the one responsible for the princess to act in such a way.

The foreigner soon loosened up and began to dance along with the people. Sure, the song was propaganda, but it was still catchy. And on the bright side, if he enjoyed it, he might have free drinks for the night and beat the princess at their bet.

_“_ _This man's just got to go", declared his enemies  
But the people begged, "Don't you try to do it, please"  
There’s no doubt this Sozin had lots of hidden charms  
Though he was head-strong, nobody really got harmed  
Then one night some men of noble standing  
Set a trap, they are to blame  
"Come to visit us", they kept demanding  
And he really came” _Azula sang along with the rest of the people, but her eyes were looking directly at him. They had a glow that could’ve come from the alcohol, but at the moment, the man felt something else. Their hands were together as they danced, and their eyes never left each-other’s.

_“Fa-Fa Fire Lord, Ruler of our Great Nation  
They put some poison into his wine  
Fa-Fa Fire Lord, everybody loved Sozin  
He drank it all and said, "I feel fine"_

_“Fa-Fa- Fire Lord, Ruler of our Great Nation_

_They didn't quit, they wanted his head  
Fa-Fa- Fire Lord, everybody feared Sozin _

_And so he burned them 'til they were dead”_

He didn’t know how it had happened, but as soon as the song seemed to have ended, he was leaning closely to the princess. Too closely. Their breaths were so close that he could barely tell them apart. He could feel her eyes linger around his mouth, and he felt himself doing the same. They started to lean towards each other. They were mere centimeters away, almost touching each other’s lips, before they were interrupted.

“Leave that for later!” the bartender patted the Water Tribesman shoulder, making him turn back to reality. “Rina, I can’t believe you did it, but you did! As promised, free drinks for you and your partner.”

The princess straightened her composure and smiled at Botum. “That song always works. It was how many of my classmates remembered the failed assassination attempt against Fire Lord Sozin.”

The princess pulled the man by his forearm towards the cantina.

“Now we can drink however much we can. You’re welcome by the way.”

The man bowed down to the princess. “Thank you oh great ladyness.”

“Shut up and drink. We have to do it at the same time. Then we’ll see who has the better alcohol tolerance.”

The pair drank nine shots in a row, which of course left them without much sense of direction or knowledge about where they were.

“So-so why did you and Ty Lee fight? I thought you two never fought.” The man asked

The princess smiled and chuckled. “Well, you’re not wrong. We don’t fight much, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any problems.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything was splendid when we got together. I love Ty Lee ever since I can remember, but I had a lot of demons to deal with before I could even admit my feelings toward her. I’m a different person now than I was back then, and on the surface level everyone knows it, but deep down everyone thinks I’m still the same person.” The princess confessed

“I’m not going to say that I get exactly what you mean, but I have an idea. Ty Lee loves you a lot, you do know that, right?”

“Of course I do, which is what makes everything harder. Our fights just escalate from simple disagreements. Like today, I told her that I didn’t think getting a pet would be a good idea because of the responsibility it takes, and because I really don’t enjoy their presence, and that escalated into me having used her back in the war. It’s like, everything I do leads me back to my past. I thought I could leave it all behind, but no matter how much I grow, I still get pulled back to the things I did even by the people I love the most.”

The Water Tribesman looked at the princess with pity in his eyes. “Have you talked to them about it?”

“There’s no point in doing it anymore.” Azula shook her head. “I tried to do it once, but Mai said I was emotionally manipulating and abusing Ty Lee and tried to break us up. Then soon after that, I asked Zuko to see father, which made him not trust me any longer. I just-I feel trapped. I’m back home after the asylum, a completely different person who is taking her medication and who takes care of her girlfriend, yet to my family I’m still a monster.”

“Hey, you’re not a monster. Monsters are ugly.” The foreigner tried to console the princess.

She laughed before taking another shot. “Your flattery will get you nowhere peasant.”

“Ok ok, sorry.” The man said as he took his shot. “I thought you would be a crazy drunk. Instead, you’re just like an honest version of yourself.”

“Just because I’m drunk doesn’t mean I will forget about etiquette. It’s a part of me. Lying, contrary to popular belief, is not hardwired to my mind, so I tend to be honest when I’m drunk.”

“So if I ask you anything, will you answer with the truth?”

“Certainly.”

The man smirked. “Well this is going to be fun. First question, how do you really feel about Zuko?”

“Zuzu’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot. We always fought when we were little, but deep down I really cared for him, obviously more than he cared about me.” The woman sighed

“Ey none of that! We’re not here to be depressed. Not after that groovy propaganda song, which I certainly have to talk to Zuko about.”

The woman hit him playfully on his shoulder. “You will do no such thing. That song is part of our culture, and you will have no say in my culture. We don’t go to your snowy filthy hut and ban you from telling stories.”

“My hut is not filthy!” the Water Tribesman yelled in outrage

“Liar! I bet it smells like you.” The princess laughed

The man smirked and got closer to the Fire Nation woman, putting an arm around her. “Aw come on, you know you love this smell.”

“If I wanted to smell sweat, I would go and visit my father in prison.”

“I doubt your father would smell like this. This is the smell of handsome warrior.”

The princess turned to face him and pointed her index finger at his chest. “While I admit you are handsome, this is the smell of someone who really needs to stop drinking and take a bath.”

He took her hand away from his chest but got closer to the princess. His eyes glammed with a hot spark, despite him not being a firebender. “No way hotwoman. I am not losing our bet. Not even to someone as beautiful as you.”

As if he had just jinxed himself, the Water Tribesman soon felt a weird feeling in his stomach. He felt how the liquids he had ingested were on route to shoot themselves out via his frontal opening. His eyes widened and he put his hands in front of his mouth.

“Oh no, you’re not doing that here.” The woman took his hand and quickly led him away from the bar and into a nearby alley. As soon as they got to the alley, the man bent his back forward and spilled his insides on the street. Against her better judgement, she approached the puking man and rubbed his back.

“Get it all out. You’ll feel better afterwards.” She said.

The woman noticed a bucket of water standing in a corner of the alley, and so without thinking it twice over, she walked over and stole it. The peasant had already finished throwing up and had his back leaning against a building.

“Gargle this and then drink some.” She handed him the bucket. “It’ll help with the taste and with the headache.”

The man took the bucket and did as the princess instructed. “So I guess this means I’ve lost.”

“So much for having muscles.” The princess taunted as the man frowned.

“What do you want your favor to be?”

The princess smiled. “I have to think about it. Something fitting for someone from the Water Tribes.”

“I don’t know how to drown someone if that’s what you were thinking.” She laughed at his joke and he smiled at her reaction. “Come on, let’s go to the palace.”

The black-haired woman shook her head. “I’m not going there with you. They’ll assume I got you drunk to use you for some evil plot.”

“Well, I’m not leaving you alone. You’re drunk.”

“I can still defend myself.” The princess scoffed.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, but I’m still not leaving you alone. Call me a gentleman or old-fashioned, but I believe a lady should not wander the streets alone in the middle of the night while under the influence and surrounded by drunk men.”

“You’re a drunk man.”

The Water Tribesman rolled his eyes and put his arm around her shoulders. “But you know me; I won’t take advantage of you.”

Sensing that the man would never stop his begging, the princess agreed. “Very well, but you must carry me. I am not walking. And this does not count as the favor.”

“Fine by me.” He crouched and showed his back to the princess. “Hop on.”

The woman stepped forward and put her arms around his neck. He grabbed her legs as he stood up, stumbling a little. The firebender’s breath was very close to his face, and the Water Tribesman had a hard time not focusing on it.

“Where to m’lady?” the man asked, walking out of the alley. The streets were empty, and the fire illuminating the way was low. The only people around them were few drunken men in their own respective bars, and women going home with their nightly selection of men. 

“Turn right on the next street and then quickly turn left. There’s a quality inn there.” The princess told him. He nodded and turned at the street she told him of. “You know peasant, I never understood why you are with that Kyoshi girl. The way she looks at Zuzu when she thinks nobody is watching, it’s disgusting. You deserve better than her.”

“Suki would never cheat on me. She loves me too much.” The Water Tribe man said.

The princess chuckled. “Think what you want, but I’m a people’s person. I know what a person truly wants before they do. In my humble opinion, I think you shouldn’t be with that Kyoshi Warrior. Even if she’s physically loyal, her heart jumps around.”

“You shouldn’t be talking about my relationship when you had a huge fight with your girlfriend today. What if I said that Ty Lee doesn’t deserve you?” The man counterargued

“Then you would be an idiot. Ty Lee loves me, and I love her. It’s not her fault that I was manipulative before, and that she will never be able to trust me. If anyone doesn’t deserve anyone it’s me. Ty Lee is too good for me. She has always been loyal to me even when I hurt her.”

“From the looks of today, it was she who hurt you.” The man said slowly.

The princess sighed. “I love her. She’s the love of my life. But I guess sometimes I feel as if our time together is better off as a memory. The idea of her makes me happy, and the idea of spending the rest of my life with her is incredible, but sometimes I get hurt because of us being together, and I don’t know what to do. I was planning on proposing to her this week, but she has been really cranky lately. As if everything Mai has been saying is reaching her ears.”

The pair arrived at the inn, where an old woman stood at the front desk. The Water Tribesman approached the woman and put the princess down.

“Hi, can we have two rooms?” he asked the innkeeper.

“I’m sorry, but we only have one room available.”

“How cliché.” The princess sighed. “We’ll take it.”

The innkeeper smiled and bowed down. “I’ll bring you your key now.”

As the innkeeper turned around to find the key, the Water Tribesman turned towards the princess.

“Cliché?”

The princess nodded. “Yes. There are many stories where two enemies have to stay in a room together because there’s no other option. They are mainly targeted to teenage girls, so I didn’t want to read them when I was younger, but Ty Lee always rabbled on and on about how romantic they were.”

Before the man could reply, the innkeeper returned with the key. “Your room will be number 8. Just go upstairs and it will be down the corridor to your right.”

“Thank you.” They replied in unison with a bow. 

The pair made their way to the room, where they found that there was only one small bed. The room itself was very small, but it had a nice smell of roses.

“Oh perfect.” The princess said as she noticed the bottles of liquor on a stand. She opened a bottle and quickly poured some of the liquor on a glass. “Do you want some?”

“You shouldn’t be drinking more princess. At least I threw up everything I drank, but you’re still digesting the liquor from earlier.”

“I’ll take that as a no.” The princess said, drinking the glass she had on her hand. She quickly went to pour herself another glass, but the Water Tribesman took her wrist. “Release me and let me enjoy the beverages.”

“I’m not letting you drink anymore.” The Water Tribesman said with finality, not letting go of the wrist. The princess felt her back touch the wall.

She glared at the foreigner in front of her with anger. “Try to stop me.” She brought the bottle of liquor to her lips, but before she could take a drink, the bottle was slapped away by the strong man in front of her. Her wrist was then also grabbed by his strong hands, as he held them both above her head.

“Now this feels familiar.” The princess said. She could feel his body close against hers, his eyes looking down at her. His breath which still smelled like alcohol engulfing her, as she was sure her breath was doing the same. His head, beginning to bend towards hers, and her head unconsciously doing the same until their lips met.

It was a hungry kiss. Their lips met harshly, passion and need lasing their every movements. The princess raised her legs to straddle the Water Tribesman, as he released her wrist and grabbed her thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer.

His legs took a mind of their own as he walked towards the small bed and laid the princess down, him getting above her just as quickly. They broke their kiss to catch their breath, and the foreigner took this opportunity to try to make sense of the situation. What was he doing? Was he really kissing the princess? Was he really cheating on Suki? He had never been that type of guy, but yet here he was, in an inn with the most powerful woman in the Fire Nation, hungrily locking his lips with hers.

“We shouldn’t do this.” He spoke.

“You’re right, we shouldn’t.” The princess said before smirking. “But we want, and we will.”

“It’s wrong. And you’re drunk.”

“That just means that I’m being honest with my desires.” She pulled him to a hungry kiss.

Before they knew it, their clothes had been discarded and the pair was still exchanging in heated kisses. All logic bypassed them both, only lust was on their mind. Lust for each other, to spend the night together no matter the circumstances. One night, only one night.

“I’m going to cash in my favor.” The princess said, breaking up the kiss.

The Water Tribesman nodded, wanting to get the conversation over and start the act. “What do you want your favor to be?”

“Forget about this night. Forget about meeting me at the bar, about me singing in Botum’s place, everything. This is wrong, we both love other people, so let’s make it as devoid of emotions as it can be. Purely lust.”

“We don’t have to do this princess. If you feel really guilty, we can just forget anything happened and rest.” The man reasoned

The woman shook her head. “No, I don’t care if this is morally wrong. I need you peasant. I need you now. Now promise that you’ll forget about it.”

“Only lust. No emotions.” The Water Tribesman nodded before locking lips with the princess once again.

* * *

Princess Azula woke up with a start. It had been the fifth night in a row that she dreamt about the same thing. She knew what it was. It was the night when Lee Ten was conceived.

She guessed this was the way for the spirits to help her relate the tale to everyone once the time came. The tale about how she succumbed under alcohol and made one of the greatest mistakes of her life. Except that it wasn’t one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

It ruined her life in a sense, but all of those happy moments that night led to her son being born, led to her finally achieving complete sanity.

There was a knock on her door which brought her back to the day.

“Who is it?” she asked

“It’s me mom!” Lee Ten opened the door and entered the room. “Uncle Zuko was asking where you were because breakfast is about to start. Also, the Avatar's wife and the other people are arriving today!”

For the past few weeks, her son had been getting familiar with his family. He began to address the Fire Lord as Uncle Zuko and Kiyi as Aunt Kiyi. He called General Iroh simply Iroh, without any sort of familial prefix. The teenager was still apprehensive about Ursa, as he avoided the instances when his grandmother tried to speak to him.

Azula stopped the urge to groan. “Tell Zuzu I’ll be there soon.”

“Are you feeling alright mom? You never used to sleep in.” her son asked, walking towards her and putting a hand on her forehead.

“Yes, I’m fine Lee Ten. Just let me get ready for the day.” The princess replied.

The teenager nodded his head and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Today was the day when she finally saw the Avatar and the Water peasant again; the day when she would have to tell everyone who Lee Ten’s father was. She wished nobody would over-react at the news, but of course she knew better. In a group of people known for their theatrics, the news that the brother-in-law of the Avatar and the evil Princess of the Fire Nation had a child together was bound to cause a reaction.


	11. 20th anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka's family and a blind earthbender arrive at the Fire nation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not a bad chapter. I think it's better than the last one at least. Maybe you liked the previous one more...idk, but it's not bad.
> 
> Reactions are going to be next chapter. Idk when the update will be, but it will hopefully be within these two weeks. No promises though. I'm going to be writing a lot for college, so I might not enjoy actually writing in my free time. Let's see how it all works out. 
> 
> Hope you like it! And thank you for you comments and kudos! It really means a lot :)

The world leaders had decided that the Fire Nation should be the host of the celebrations for the 20th Anniversary of the End of the 100-Year War. All leaders were supposed to have been present, but unfortunately King Kuei fell ill with some unknown illness, thus being unable to attend, and Chief Arnook’s wife had just begun labor. So, in the 20th Anniversary of the End of the 100-Year War, only the representatives of the Southern Water Tribe and Fire Nation were present. And the Air Nomads if the Avatar counted as an Air Nomad and not as an independent entity.

There would be celebrations inside the Capital City, Caldera, as well as a private dinner with the world leaders, their families, and other influential people hosted in the Fire Nation palace. No expense would be spared in the preparation for the celebrations, which served as a source for the Fire Lord and his sister’s latest squabbles.

“Zuzu, the economy is getting better, but people still need help from us before we go spending our budget on a useless celebration.” Azula said during the breakfast.

It had started as a normal breakfast, with some side remarks and overall tension within the table. But then it progressed into a heated argument between the Fire Lord and the Princess concerning the celebrations. It made no sense to be arguing about that the same day of the celebrations, after all arrangements had been made, but they still did. Nobody knew why the princess was putting so much emphasis onto the commemoration, but she knew why she was acting this way. On this day, the secret of Lee Ten’s parentage would become public knowledge, and so many things could change. People could start treating Lee Ten differently or begin to treat her as even more of a pest.

For the past three weeks, Azula had had tolerable moments with almost all members of the table and had even began to have conversations with Ty Lee. The conversations were tense, not at all as how they used to be, but they still made Azula very happy. It was the hope that one day, they might rekindle and begin to see each other as they once did. Their relationship at the moment was not great, but perhaps that could change as the time passed. But then again, Lee Ten’s parentage would become public knowledge soon, so maybe such hope was just an ideal.

It didn’t make it better that she remembered how that night had progressed. How she had been vulnerable around Sokka, how she had acted so carefree at the bar, and how they had very heartfelt conversations before tearing each other’s clothes off. The only other person who had ever seen Azula in such a vulnerable state had been Ty Lee, and not even she had seen the _singing_ Azula. That Azula was not supposed to be seen by anyone—she used an alias just for that.

She didn’t know whether to be mad at Sokka for leaving her to fend with the pregnancy alone. The rational part of her brain told her that she shouldn’t be, because she had made him promise that he would forget about that night. But the other side of her brain screamed—the emotional side—saying that he still should’ve stuck up with her as she was banished from her home. He should’ve just forgotten about her favor and use that good will everyone on the so-called Team Avatar were supposed to have.

It also opened the dilemma of who she should be with. Azula had always loved Ty Lee, even when they were children the acrobat had been a constant in the princess’s life. But she cheated on her, Ty Lee would never trust her again. Their relationship would be almost impossible to mend to perfection. But she still wanted to be with the acrobat. Maybe it was the teenage Azula trying to be with her lover, but there would always be a part of Azula’s heart that would belong to Ty Lee.

Then there was Sokka, who she had a child with. Sokka, who claimed to love her. Sokka, who claimed to have searched for her for years before ultimately giving up. He told her that he wanted to have a family with her, and in all honesty, Azula did want a family. Her family did not want her; Ursa detested her daughter and Kiyi liked her, but not much. Zuko had thrown her into an asylum and never visited her, only seeing her because he needed her help. That was not love, Azula knew very well. Even though they acted cordially now, Azula would always be hurt by his behavior during and after the war. No, if she had a family, it would have to be one that she creates. And Sokka was offering her that.

Family or love? Would she give up the person her heart had ached for to have what her heart always longed for?

“You’re the one who said that we should have an active economy!” Zuko yelled. “What’s more active than having thousands of people come to the city and spend money on local businesses.”

Azula opened her arms. “There are dozens of ways to do that without putting us in _debt_! Agni Zuko, the economy is still shit and you want to throw an extravagant party. Please make it make sense.”

“It will be good for publicity. We’re celebrating the beginning of peace by bringing people from all over the world together into the city that twenty years ago was the epicenter of evil.”

“Oh great, the bashing of ancestors has begun.” The princess rolled her eyes. “You don’t need the Water Tribe citizens to like you, they’re not your subjects. The people who need to like you are the ones that are starving while you put us in debt.”

“You told me that things were already better in the countryside.” The Fire Lord defended himself.

“Fifteen years of bad economic decisions will not suddenly disappear with three weeks of logical decisions. And if you keep making stupid decisions like this one, I doubt that they’ll get better anytime soon.”

Zuko fumed. “Stop insulting me!”

“Stop making insulting you a necessity!”

The door of the dining room opened and in came a servant. She bowed to the Fire Lord and maintained her head low.

“Your Majesty, the guests have arrived.”

Zuko nodded. “Thank you. You’re excused.”

Everyone was now looking at Zuko, who had not forgotten his argument with Azula. The princess was nervous, but her eyes showed none. She was still the same level-headed princess she had been in the past (with the exception of those few years).

“It seems that we have to cut our meal short. Let’s go meet everyone, and then we can have some fun.” Zuko said, standing up from his seat.

The group stood up and walked towards the outside of the palace, where the rest of the guests had arrived to. There were two women, two men (one tall and older while the other one seemed average looking) and two children. One was a tanned kid with somewhat spiky hair, while the other one was a little baby girl.

“Dad!” the boy screamed, running towards the Avatar. Aang picked the kid up and gave him a big hug.

Sokka’s heart clenched at the sight. He always loved his nephew, and the kid always seemed to be a big fan of his uncle, but it still hurt to see Aang with his little son. He had a son, but that son was a teenager. All of those development stages, like when they begin to walk or when teeth fall out, Sokka missed it all. He had a son, but he never had a child.

“I missed you so much Bumi.” Aang said as he hugged his kid. “How have you been?”

“Uncle Sokka!” the kid yelled running towards his uncle, completely ignoring the question his father asked him. The Water Tribesman picked up his nephew and lifted him high in the air.

“You’re getting too big.” Sokka said, feigning as if he could not deal with the weight. “We’ll have to tell you mother to stop feeding you.”

Bumi jumped and put his hands in the air. “NO! I’m going to grow to be even bigger than you!”

“Ok, but once you grow you have to promise that you’ll use your strength to protect your mother and sister.” Sokka told his nephew.

The boy nodded eagerly.

“Well, it seems like someone is happy to see his uncle.” A voice said in front of Sokka. He lifted his gaze and saw Katara holding up little Kya, and his father standing not too far from her.

“Katara! How have you been?” Sokka greeted his sister with a hug, careful not to squish his niece.

“Busy with the little ones, but can’t complain.” His sister replied with a smile.

A booming voice spoke up. “Are you going to forget about your old man?”

Sokka smiled and approached his father, who was wearing elegant blue robes. “Of course not dad.” He embraced his father, who returned the hug.

“Snoozles!” a female voice said from behind him. Before he could turn around, the woman punched him in the arm.

“Nice to see you too Toph.” Sokka said with a smirk

“You said that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Sokka shrugged his shoulders. “So, who’s the date?”

To his surprise, the blind earthbender heavily blushed. “His name is Kanto.”

Toph turned around before Sokka could ask her any more questions and smiled as her feet sensed the Fire Lord.

“Sparky!” Toph walked towards the Fire Lord and punched him in the arm. “Mrs. Sparky.” Toph bowed down to Mai.

Zuko rubbed his arm as he looked at the earthbender with a frown. “Why do you have to hit so hard?”

“That’s how I show affection.” Toph shrugged

“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be so hard…” Zuko murmured

The Water Tribe family had finally finished their reunion and was now standing alongside the rest of the people. They greeted Iroh and Ursa with a smile, each person giving a hug to the respective member of the Royal Family.

“Wow Kiyi, I knew you were grown up, but I didn’t expect you to have a boyfriend now.” Katara teased

Kiyi’s eyes widened as she understood who the waterbender was talking about. “Oh, no. He’s not-”

“And he’s big, if you know what I mean.” Toph added, nudging Kiyi by her side.

Everyone who had been present in the palace for the past three weeks reacted to the words. The Fire Lord and his wife widened their eyes, while Ursa, Ty Lee and Suki covered their mouths. Iroh opened his mouth to laugh, but maintained his self-control, keeping his laughter inside. The Avatar looked between Toph, Kiyi, Lee Ten and Katara with an amused face, thinking of ways to ease the conversation.

“T-that w-was not n-necessary information.” Kiyi stuttered with her words, deeply perturbed by the mental image Toph had put in her head.

“Of course, you already knew that. My bad.” Toph laughed

The guests who knew who the boy was cringed at the words of the Earth Kingdom nobility.

“I hate this.” Suki said, trying to hide herself behind her hand.

A regal voice spoke up from behind the boy. “I must agree. This was truly a scarring exercise Bei Fong.”

“Azula!” The waterbender yelled, hiding her daughter from her rival. “What are you doing here?”

“Greeting the guest as ordered by the Fire Lord.” Azula said as she rolled her eyes. “I know you detest me, but let’s put our differences aside for the time being. If not for us, then for our children.”

Katara raised an eyebrow at the wording of the princess. “ _Our_ children?”

The princess nodded. “Yes. You for your two children and me for my son.”

“ _Your son?!_ ”

“Yes, my son. The boy the vermin so beautifully described.” Azula said, stepping forward and putting a hand on the tall teenager. “This is my son, Lee Ten. He’s not Kiyi’s boyfriend, and he will not be anyone’s boyfriend for a long time.”

“But,” Katara struggled to internalize the information. According to Azula, the tall fair skinned boy with brown hair and a blue eye was her son. A boy who was clearly mixed race was apparently the son of one of the most racist and imperialist women alive. “he’s half Water Tribe.”

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious.”

“And you’re Azula!”

“I’m failing to see how these two statements are supposed to correlate with each other.” The princess sighed.

Katara looked around to see if anyone else was as perturbed with the fact as she was. From the corner of her eye, she could see Toph with a grin, and her dad with a neutral face. Zuko and Sokka were both looking between the princess and her, seemingly ready to intervene if things went south. The rest of the people were looking at Katara to do something, but none of them seemed to be in understanding of some sort of dark joke.

The waterbender glared at the princess.

“I’m keeping an eye out for you. I still think you’re the same old psychopathic sadist-”

“Eeeaaaugh” the princess loudly yawned. “Such strong words in front of children. Please spare me your lecture, I’m not interested in it. Now Zuzu, can we get going? I’m tired of arguing with the waterbender.”

The hours passed quickly as each person went to their respective groups. The rest of the Kyoshi warriors arrived a little bit later, and when they did, Suki went with them. Aang went with Katara to spend time with his children, something he hadn’t done since quite a long time. Meanwhile Hakoda went with his son Sokka to talk about the Water Tribe. Lee Ten went alone to practice with his boomerang and brand-new spear.

And so Azula was left alone, fuming about the financial situation of her country and nervous about the outcome the fateful announcement might have. It needed to be said, Lee Ten deserved to have his father present in his life. She, Sokka, and Lee Ten had already discussed the plan to tell everyone the parentage during the big meal, and they had all agreed to it. And it was not that she was having second thoughts, it was just that Azula was nervous about what the reactions would be.

There was no doubt Suki would want to kill her, and then Katara might also want to join in. The Avatar would be forever neutral, and at least that meant that he wouldn’t hurt her. Zuko would probably be disappointed in Sokka, not in her though, he didn’t expect her to do any better, but he did expect Sokka to know better than to sleep with the crazy princess. The blind rat would probably laugh.

Ty Lee would be sad. Yes, they needed to tell everyone this, but it was still the night she cheated on her beloved. It would just bring bad memories back. It would be like saying ‘ _Hey, remember that guy you had a crush on during the war? Well I cheated on you with him. Anyways, hope we can mend our relationship!_ ’. Azula knew that it would hurt her chances of ever getting together with Ty Lee, but if the acrobat could not embrace every part of Lee Ten, then Azula could not be with her. No matter how much her heart ached for the touch of her first love. The person for whom Lee Ten is named after.

There was a knock on the door which brought Azula back from her thoughts. Her head turned to the entrance to her room, where Ursa was standing.

“What do you want?” Azula asked her mother, returning to her reading regarding the newest development in the treatment for wet lung.

Ursa approached the princess and sat on her bed. The firebender lifted her gaze towards the woman but did not speak.

“I know I haven’t been the best mother to you, but I still know you better than a lot of people. There is something bothering you. What is it?” Ursa said after a moment of silence.

Azula kept on reading the article. “Why would you care?”

“Because you’re my daughter Azula.”

Azula closed the magazine where the article was at and put it down. She met her mother’s eyes, challenging the older woman to look away. “Oh, _now_ I am your daughter. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I thought that a mother should always love her child. No matter the circumstance, a mother is supposed to always protect her child and love that child unconditionally. But you neglected me all my childhood, then willingly forgot about me when you abandoned your children, and then kicked me out of my own home because of a mistake, leaving me literally homeless. No, you don’t care. You just want me to maintain a good image so that people can trust Zuko’s judgement. Guess what, Zuko’s judgement is shit and this whole day is proof of it.”

“Azula, I’m sorry for everything I did. I can see how I hurt you, and I swear that it wasn’t my intention.”

“But you still did it.” Azula replied. “It doesn’t matter if you meant it or not, you still hurt me. And now you want my forgiveness? I don’t think I can forgive you. Your actions have spoken more than your apologies ever will. Apologies are just words, and you’re extremely good at using them without meaning.”

“Azula…” Ursa began to cry and went to grab her daughter’s hand, only for the firebender to swipe it away.

The princess returned to her reading. “Save your tears for when someone dies. Now please get out my room. I’m reading something important.”

Sensing that her daughter’s distress, Ursa left the room and closed the door. Once in solitude, Azula put down her reading and sighed, putting her right hand on top of her heart. It hurt. She always wanted her mother’s attention, her mother’s love, and now that it was offered, she turned it away. But it was the reasonable thing to do. If she had opened up to Ursa, she would’ve ended hurt and betrayed. It was better to save her the embarrassment.

A couple of hours passed before another knock interrupted the princess’ activities. Azula noticed that the sun was beginning to set, which meant that it was time for the meal.

“I’m going.” Azula said loudly, applying her red lipstick and perfecting her neat hair. When she was younger, she would’ve banished the servants for not doing her hair. But now, after fifteen years of living as a commoner, the princess could not get used to anyone else handling her hair.

Outside of her room stood Lee Ten, who was dressed in fine Fire Nation clothing. Azula had to admit that the combination of her genes and Sokka’s had resulted in a very good outcome. Yes, she was the result of generation of perfect breeding, but Sokka was not. However, this did not matter when they were all in Lee Ten. Her son was very handsome, and although there was clearly Water Tribe running through his veins, he still held a Fire Nation aura. And that was what mattered the most.

“Let’s go.” Azula said, making her way to the dining room with Lee Ten in tow. The princess felt her heart beat harder and faster than before; every step was ten pound of pressure put on her heart. She literally felt as if she were drowning on the air.

“Mom,” Lee Ten grabbed her hand, making the princess stop in her tracks. “everything is going to be fine. I love you.”

Azula smiled and hugged her son, who seemed to have hit a growth spurt in the past couple of weeks. 

“Are you ready?” The princess asked once she released her son from the hug.

The bastard teen nodded with his head, a smile on his face. “Yeah, everything is going to be great after this because I’ll finally have a dad!”

Azula did not have the heart to tell him that it all depended on how people took it. He might gain a father, but he could also gain many enemies. The people in the room might want to kill him simply because of the meaning behind his birth.

Despite her insecurity, the princess smiled and patted her son in the back. “Let’s get this over with.”

The table was extremely big, but it was mostly empty. It was expected for delegates of the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe to be present in the meal, but because they were not, there was a lot of empty space and extra food. Zuko sat at the top of the table, with the Fire Nation citizens sitting to his left and the Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom and the Avatar sitting to his right.

“Thank you all for coming today, when we celebrate the culmination of the war that brought unmeasurable suffering throughout the world. We are gathered here as friends and family, something that would not have been possible twenty years ago. It’s a great day for unity, with people from all over the world sitting together in the table, ready to eat the feast of their lives. Truly, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend this day.”

Azula took this as the best moment to speak up. She grabbed her glass and hit it with her chopstick, making everyone turn to face her.

“What are you doing Azula?” Zuko asked, scared for what his sister had in plan.

The prodigious firebender smiled. “Why nothing sinister dear brother. I just want to speak up regarding the topic of unity.”

“No, you are not ruining the night.”

“You have so little faith in me Fire Lord.” Azula feigned being hurt. “Please, let me talk on the topic. After I finish, I can keep quiet for the rest of the meal if you desire.”

“Fine. Say whatever you want to say.” Zuko groaned

Azula smiled. “Thank you Zuzu. Today we are here to commemorate unity, and what better way to do that than by dividing the table between families, between Fire Nationals and foreigners?”

“Azula!” Zuko yelled

“But that is not all true. You see, one member of our table can fit wherever he wants. Almost fifteen years ago, a little boy was born, with a Water Tribe father and a Fire Nation mother. As you all know that boy is my son, Lee Ten. At the moment, and until recently, I had no idea who Lee Ten’s father was. But now his father has stepped up and assumed his responsibilities as a father, something that will hopefully not change at any point in the future.”

“Azula don’t do that right now!” Zuko yelled in outrage. “Your dramatics can wait until we are alone as a family.”

“Oh, but Zuzu, don’t you see, I needed the _whole_ family together. And that would only happen if the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and his family were present.”

Hakoda pointed a finger towards him. “Me-what?”

Azula sighed. “This is the point where you speak up peasant.”

“Oh right.” Sokka said, straightening his back. “So, umm, you see, when a man and a woman love each other, well not necessarily love, it’s supposed to be love, but sometimes it’s not. And sometimes there’s alcohol involved, and some old people use plants that help them-”

“Stop rambling.” Azula said sternly

Sokka sighed. “Sorry. Ok, so fifteen years ago, me, Katara, and Aang were in Caldera doing…I don’t remember what, but we were here. One of those days, we saw Azula being kicked off her home because she was disloyal to Ty Lee. The thing is, well, Katara you remember that you were unbelievably angry at what happened, and that I tried to calm you down saying that it wasn’t a big deal?”

“How could I not? I lost my faith in you when you said that it wasn’t a big deal.” Katara said in a serious tone.

“Yeah…and it was a big deal, I was wrong to say that it wasn’t. But I had a reason to say it, because I had just done the same thing.”

“So you cheated on-” Katara began to say before her thoughts caught her off. If Sokka had cheated on Suki that night, and it was the same night Azula cheated on Ty Lee, then… could it be? No, Azula wouldn’t do that with Sokka…but it had been someone from the Water Tribe. And it added up. Why Sokka looked so guilty when Azula was thrown out of her home, and why he insisted that it wasn’t a big deal and that the Royal Family was overexaggerating its punishment. The waterbender turned her gaze to Azula’s son and _saw_ him for the first time. How could she not see it before? Besides his skin color and a few traits, he was identical to… “No, it can’t be.”

“Yes. Lee Ten is my son.” Sokka announced, loud enough so that everyone in the room could listen and interpret the news.


End file.
